Children of the Hearts
by GeneralQuistis-Zhakeena
Summary: (AU, Gigantic Crossover) One day, Riku's helping his dad Sephiroth on a mission... but something's bound to go wrong. He meets a girl inside a well (non-OC though) and finds himself on a journey to prevent the world's destruction. FINISHED!
1. Prologue

Kingdom Hearts: Children of the Hearts

By: General Quistis and Zhakeena

Disclaimer: We don't own Kingdom Hearts; Final Fantasy 7, 8, 9 and 10; Resident Evil, Dark Stalkers, The Ring, Disney, Ragnarok or even Devil May Cry. We do own the story plot, though. Don't try suing us; you'll just be wasting your time and money and we'll just laugh at your face. HAH!

General Quistis's Note: Honestly, I don't know where to post this: Kingdom Hearts of Final Fantasy Crossovers? I'm not sure… so I'm sorry if it's out of place in this Kingdom Hearts category. But anyway, it features mostly the kids from Kingdom Hearts… so…..

Maybe you've seen one of my blogs entitled "Everyone Will Suffer"… now, what made me think about this? I don't know… but my mind tends to play with a lot of things whenever it's idle… so this is another result of its idleness. Zhakeena's just another victim of my **very** wild imagination. Oh yes, and if you've read the disclaimer above, you must've been surprised; this fic is a big cross-over.

Zhakeena's note: I got involved in this because of my not-so-lacking KH knowledge… Oh yeah, the characters here aren't portrayed as they are in their respective game/movie… Just a warning if you're a purist fan of any of the above mentioned titles!

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Prologue 

            "_So tell me…"_

_His voice echoed through the walls of the underground laboratory as he pushed his glasses up the bridge of his nose to prevent it from slipping as he bowed down his head and looked at the chart attached to the clipboard that he was holding. The monitors attached to the machine monitoring his patient's heart rate and brain waves were giving off soft beeping sounds. He tapped his pen against the table as he frowned and followed, with his gaze, the wires leading to the nodes attached onto his patient's fingers, forehead, ankles and wrists._

_"Why won't you sleep?" he asked._

_His patient was a little girl… about the age of 10. She had long ebony black hair with a length that went past her waist, almost down to her lower buttocks. Her eyes were blue… and they give off a cold look everytime she would look at someone… but she would not show her eyes because she did not want anyone looking at her._

_After all, everybody thought she was strange._

_…everyone, except for her own parents and siblings._

_So she made sure that her hair also covered almost her whole face and she would keep her head bowed down to make sure her eyes stay unrevealed._

_She did not answer the Doctor's question._

_He became impatient. "I ask you again… and I want you to answer, okay?"_

_She just stared blankly at the floor._

_He frowned at her, "Why won't you sleep?" he asked._

_She opened her mouth to speak… and she solemnly began, "I can't sleep… noises keep me awake…" _

_"What kind of noises?" he asked._

_"Ugly ones… they sound like squeaks…" she replied._

_"Where are they coming from?" he asked._

_She was just silent._

_"Where are they coming from?" he repeated._

_She remained still._

_"Samara, you know I'm here to help you. Now how can I help you with your problem if you don't tell me where those noises are coming from?" the Doctor asked._

_"Because you would never believe __me.__" She replied with a low tone._

_He sighed heavily. "You have to trust me, Samara. I am a Doctor. I can help you." He told her._

_"I want my mommy." She replied monotonously._

_He was just silent for a few seconds before he got some X-ray films from a big brown envelope on the table before him. He studied the images… and the images looked horrible and distorted… like every image spelled suffering and death. The films were supposed to contain X-ray images of her chest and some MRI scans of her brain. But there was none. Instead, they had images on them…of dying people, drowning people… people on fire…_

_ "Samara, let me ask you a question… how did you make these pictures?"_

_She just kept quiet._

_"Samara," he repeated sternly._

_"I didn't make them… I see them in my head." She replied._

_"Why do you see them in your head?" he asked._

_"I don't know… they just… are..." she began monotonously just like before. That's how she would always speak… in scary monotone. Her voice was always low… like she could never be happy…_

_And she never smiled…_

_"Samara, I want you to start telling me the truth," the Doctor told her sternly._

_"I want my mommy." She repeated._

_He frowned angrily at her._

_"Can I see my mommy?" she asked with a pleading but low tone._

_"No, you can't see your mommy unless you start telling me the truth." He told her stiffly._

_"Where is my mommy?" she asked softly._

_He dropped the films on the table. "Your mommy's with your daddy taking a vacation. They love you very much that's why they sent you here." He told her._

_For the first time after a week that he had had her confined inside his laboratory, she looked at him. "You're lying." She whispered hoarsely, making it sound like it's a hiss._

_He narrowed his eyes at her. "It's true, Samara. Now, tell me the truth." He told her as he turned to the monitor upon realizing that the brainwaves were already erratic but the heart rate was still normal._


	2. Chapter One

1 

            "Hurry up!" Sora called out to his two companions as they started running out of a big building.

Kairi was just following close behind him but Riku was left way behind them, carrying a small red velvet box. "Are you sure we got the right thing?" Kairi asked Sora.

"Yeah. Is it with Riku?" Sora asked.

She nodded before turning back, seeing several Heartless going after them already. "Oh no! Here they come!" she said with a frantic tone.

"Hey, wait up!" Riku called out.

Sephiroth arrived and blocked one of the enemies who was ready to attack Riku.

"Thanks, dad!" Riku said before proceeding to run.

"Just go! I'll follow!" Sephiroth told him as he began to attack the enemies with his Masamune.

Cloud was waiting for them behind another building. Sora met up with him. "Dad!" he said.

"You got it?" he asked.

"Yeah but it's with Riku." Sora told him.

Before they could run away, more enemies appeared.

"Looks like we have to fight all of them…" Cloud said with a slight frown on his face.

Riku was about to join them at the back of the other building, but before he could round a corner, five Heartless appeared right in front of him, surprising him. He gasped as one of those tried to grab the small box off his grasp. He moved the box away and dodged and then ran off to another direction.

He tried to avoid all the enemies by just running away, until he realized that he lost his way…

And to think that they're in unfamiliar territory.

Finally, he ran through a thick forest until he reached a clear area where a small cottage stood. A big stone well was just beside the house and it had a thick stone lid on top of it.

He ran towards the well and stayed there for a while, placing the box on top of it as he panted heavily. "I can't even fight back because of this box…" he muttered miserably. He recalled Cloud's instructions: never take the box for granted. It is very important.

"What's inside anyway?" he thought silently. But he remembered that nobody must open the box. The first one who should open it and let them see it should be the owner. Riku doesn't even know who the owner is. His father and Cloud were the ones who talked to the owner of the box and had agreed to retrieve it for that person… and their sons had to come along with them, plus their sons' friend, Kairi.

Looking around further from where he is, he realized that the small cottage was already deserted and looked very old and the wooden walls were already beginning to fall apart. He turned to the ground and saw a rusting shovel… he froze when he recognized some dry bloodstains on it. "What the…" he began as he picked it up and examined it. He sniffed it and made a face before dropping it to the ground again. He sighed heavily before he decided that he needed a drink. Seeing that there's a pail beside the well, he began to push the lid off the well. With his muscles and enough strength, he was able to remove the heavy lid easily. For a boy his age (15), he is quite strong. Maybe thanks to the genes he inherited from his strong father, Sephiroth.

And for a boy his age, he's already muscular… just like his dad.

But he took a peek inside the well and saw that it was very dark. He could not even see if there is still water inside. But he thought twice, "Yeugh… the water must be dirty… mommy wouldn't want me drinking dirty water… never mind…" he thought silently before he reached for the box again that was on the ground already with the lid. But just when he was about to get up again to leave, he felt something hit the back of his head.

The shovel, probably… because he heard the sound of metal hitting bone.

 Whatever it is, it made him feel dizzy… and he could not open his eyes… even as he struggled to fight the person who hit him with the rock. He could feel severe pain all over his back… and his vision became blurred. "Who…" he had managed to say.

But all he saw was a dark figure in front of him… and just when his vision was slowly clearing, the figure pushed him backwards…

And the next thing he knew, he was already falling into a dark tunnel-like atmosphere…


	3. Chapter Two

2 

            "Where's Riku?" Sephiroth asked as he finally arrived at the meeting place.

The meeting place was a big mansion-like house in a very sunny place located in another continent.

"What took you so long? We've been here for three hours already. Is the box with you?" Cloud asked.

Sephiroth frowned at him. "No. It's with Riku. And it took me long to get here because I was looking for him. Then I figured he must've escaped with you guys." He explained.

"Nope. He's not with us. We thought he was with you all the time." Cloud told them.

Silence.

"Uh-oh…" Cloud muttered under his breath.

Sora blinked. "Why? What's wrong? What's so important about that box anyway?" he asked curiously.

"You're too young to understand, son." Cloud explained.

"What?! Dad, come on! I'm 14!" Sora remarked.

"You ask your mother later when we get home." Cloud just told him before they all turned to the doorway of the living room area when they heard some footsteps approaching.

"Where's Kairi?" Sephiroth asked.

"She already went home. Her mom's looking for her already anyway." Cloud told him simply before greeting the person who just entered. "Hey, Rufus."

Sora gazed up at the tall man with blonde hair brushed back, but a few strands were still loose, falling upon his face. He had icy blue eyes and he was wearing a black turtleneck and white pants underneath a long white vest and a white blazer. The man just raised his eyebrows at Cloud for a moment as a greeting, but he did not say anything. He shoved his hands inside his pockets as he gazed down at Cloud.

Cloud turned to Sephiroth. Sephiroth just made a face.

Cloud just turned back to Rufus and smiled slightly. "I'd like you to meet my son, Sora. He also helped in retrieving the item that you asked us to find." He said as he referred to Sora who was still seated on the couch.

Rufus nodded his head in greeting before offering a handshake to the young boy. Sora looked at Rufus's hand for a while before he got up and shook it eagerly, "Pleased to meet you, sir." He said.

Rufus smiled slightly at him before turning back to Cloud. "So this is the boy that Aerith is so proud of. I always hear her talking about him whenever she's with Tifa." He explained.

"That's my boy." Cloud said proudly as he patted his son's head.

Sephiroth cleared his throat, making everyone look at him. "By any chance… did… a boy with silver hair… wearing yellow… arrived here earlier before Cloud did?" he asked Rufus.

Rufus thought for a while before he shook his head, "The paper boy wore yellow today but he doesn't have silver hair. Why? Who is he?" he asked.

Sephiroth sat down on the couch with a worried look on his face. "Don't tell me he got lost…" he muttered.

"Who?" Rufus asked.

"What? Riku?" Sora asked in surprise as he sat down beside Sephiroth.

"The box, unfortunately, is with him… he's Sephiroth's son." Cloud explained to Rufus.

"We could wait for him here." Sora said hopefully.

"He's not familiar with this area… and it might take him a long time before he could come here." Sephiroth replied with a deep frown on his face.

Silence.

"Then what are we going to do?" Cloud asked.

"I'll… just search for him, dad." Sora said.

"But you're also unfamiliar with this continent," Cloud told him.

"I know but… if you give me map, I can find my way back here. Besides, I'll take Kairi with me. I won't go alone," Sora said happily.

"You'd better ask permission from her mother first." Sephiroth told him.

"I will, don't worry, Mister Sephiroth." Sora told him with a proud look on his face before Cloud turned to Rufus with a serious look on his face, "Can he borrow a map from you?" he asked.

"He can buy a map at the souvenir shop near the pier for only a Gil. My map's nailed to the wall and it's already framed… or maybe he'd like to carry around a heavy piece of antiquity?" Rufus replied before flipping his hair.

"Very funny," Cloud remarked.

            Riku slowly opened his eyes and realized that he was floating on water. He gasped for air and got to his feet, but half of his body was still immersed in water. He looked around him but it was so dark… and he looked up… but all he could see was a circular light.

The well.

His eyes widened in shock when he remembered falling into it… and that person who made him fall inside the well must've replaced the lid on it!

"NO!!!" he cried out as he pounded an angry fist against the cold mossy stone wall behind him. The pounding sound echoed throughout the well. He looked up to examine the little light escaping through the sides of the lid, but it wasn't enough to make him see the inside of his watery trap.

"Dammit," he cursed. Then, he realized that he was still holding the box. He frowned angrily. "All this trouble just because of this stupid box! What's inside anyway?!" he said out loud with an angry tone. He opened it, but it was too dark that he could not even see anything. "What's the use…" he mumbled desperately. He closed it and then slipped it inside his shirt. He tried to feel the walls of well for some support so that he could climb up, but everything was slippery and it would be too hard for him to climb up because it's either he let his nails go or have numb fingers doing so.

"HEEEEELP!!!!!" he cried out.

His loud voice echoed all over the well, but it did not escape from inside.

He grumbled. "Aw man! Nobody would hear me!" he sighed heavily as he bowed down his head sadly. "Not even dad could find me here… and mom's gonna get worried… and…" he bit his lower lip. "Don't tell me I'm going to die here!?" he exclaimed.

Silence.

He took a step backward, hoping to lean against the wall behind him, but he froze when he felt something hit his back. He moved his hand, feeling the water… and felt some hair touch his fingers. His eyes widened before he slowly turned around and began to feel what's in front of him.

Standing before him…

Unmoving.

His mouth dropped open when he was able to make out the contours of a human body and a face… and long hair. He shivered.

And he felt a hand grab his left wrist and he suddenly screamed out of fear and surprise because of the tightness of the grip.

The hand would not let him go.

He continued to scream, "Let go of me!!!"

But the grip tightened more around his wrist until he was already in pain. "Ow! It hurts! Let go of me!" he pushed the person away from him.

He heard a thud. The person's back hit the wall. He heard a soft grunt.

…sounds like a girl.

His eyes widened. "Oh my God… I'm… sorry…" he began.

No answer.

But he heard movement against the water… coming nearer to him. He felt a pair of small hands exploring his hands, traveling up to his shoulders slowly.

"P…please don't hurt me… who…who are you?" he asked, suddenly afraid. The hands felt so soft and so cold against his skin… so deathly… and he shivered at the touch.

"Are you a boy?" a monotonous little girl's voice asked.

Riku suddenly felt relieved when he heard her speak. "Y…yes… how did you know?" he asked.

She was silent for a few moments before she withdrew her hands from him. "Your voice and your muscles." She said.

He blinked. "Oh… I see…" he said softly, feeling stupid and sort of awkward. He wished he could see her face and see how she looks like; how tall she is and who she is…

He smiled weakly, somewhat relieved that he has a companion inside the well, "My…my name is Riku…" he said.

She was just silent.

"And you are?" he asked, wanting to hear more than that familiar yet creepy silence in the well.

Silence loomed around them for a few moments before he heard another sound. "…Samara." she said with a mysterious but soft tone… and it had some shyness and wonder in it.


	4. Chapter Three

3 

            Riku thought at an instant that she had an unusual name… and he could recall from one of his science books that it is also a part of some plant… he was not sure… But he still forced a smile. "Nice to meet you, Samara." He said while thinking quietly, "I wonder how she looks like… is she a pretty girl? She sounds dull… maybe she doesn't look nice…" and he spoke up again with a solemn tone, "So… what are you doing here anyway?" he asked with a calmer voice.

She was silent for a few moments before replying, "Somebody trapped me in here…"

Riku's eyes widened in shock. "What?!" he demanded in disbelief. "But who?" he asked.

"I do not know his name…" She explained with a soft tone. Riku thought for a while before realized that it was a man. "But why… why would anybody do that to you?" he asked.

She was silent, eyeing the darkness before her… but she could easily sense where he is although she could not really see him. She lowered her gaze at the water as she replied softly but with hardness in her tone, "I can't remember anything…"

He was silent for a few moments, contemplating her words. "She must've hit her head when she fell in… poor girl…" he thought silently. His thoughts were interrupted when she spoke up again, "What about you? How did you end up here?" she asked.

He sighed heavily as he leaned back against the wall behind him. "Somebody knocked me out and pushed me inside." He explained.

She was just quiet.

"But I didn't see who it was… but definitely, he used a shovel for it." He told her before touching the back of his head and his neck, feeling for any more pain or even blood. "At least I got over it somehow… but it really hurt back there! Ow…" he cringed when he felt a slight sting.

He heard her move… towards him… and the next thing he felt were her pair of small and cold hands hugging his neck gently. He froze. "Wha…what are you doing?" he asked in surprise. He feared she would strangle him. For all he knew, she could be a monster…

But the shape of her hands felt so human… except that they were so cold.

After a few seconds, she let go of him and he was free to move again.

The pain was gone.

He blinked in awe. "Wow… are you a sorceress?" he asked.

"No." she replied softly.

"But how did you do that?! I mean… wow! You healed me?" he asked in disbelief.

"I don't know… it's nothing a girl like me would ever understand, but I guess it's natural in me…" she explained before she moved away from him.

He was still a bit dumbfounded after her demonstration of her weird skill. "Thanks…" he said uneasily, but gratefully.

She did not answer.

They were silent for a few moments before he asked, "How long have you been here?" he asked.

The question seemed to be a bullet through her heart, but she ignored the feeling. "Seven days…" she said in a hoarse whisper.

His eyes widened. "Seven?!" he asked in shock.

She was just quiet, refusing to react to his behavior towards her unfortunate situation. He felt confused. "Y…you're still alive? How… how did you survive that long? Do you have any food here? Or do you even drink?" he asked in disbelief.

"I don't know. I don't eat and I don't drink. The water here is clean but the walls are full of moss and grime…" she said.

"But how come you're still alive? …" he gasped. "Or maybe… you're…" he began nervously.

"I am not a zombie yet." She snapped rather harshly at him before her expression softened and she bowed down her head. "…although… I thought I would die today…" she muttered in a voice only audible enough for herself to hear. "What?" he asked, not being able to understand what she just uttered.

"Nothing." She said softly.

He looked up and noticed that the circular light was already beginning to fade off. "It's going to get dark soon…" he realized before he bowed down his head. "Have you tried getting out of here?" he asked before he finally thought of casting a light spell which he learned from Sora and his mother. With his palm facing up, he concentrated slightly and watched as a small orb-like light began to form and float before him. "Heheh. I almost forgot that Sora and Mrs. Strife taught me how to do this." He said with a slight but sheepish smile on his face before he decided to gaze past the orb… and saw her face.

His eyes widened for a while as he gazed at her… she was shorter than him, her height reaching up to his chin. Her hair was so long and it was pitch black. He had never seen hair as dark as hers aside from his own mother… And her eyes were unusually radiating a cold aura. They were blue.

Her long hair framed her face but she doesn't keep her head up high like a stuck-up person. Instead, she looked like she is always intimidated by everyone… even the darkness around her… and now, Riku.  She was wearing a long white dress and her hands and half of her arms were dipped into the dark water. And her skin looked so pale… like she's already paper-white. _I guess 7 days in a well would make anyone that pale… _Riku thought.

Just the same, she was staring curiously at him but she maintained a stern facial expression. She was thinking how strange-looking he is. She hasn't encountered any person with silver hair such as his… and his eyes… she could not determine if they were blue green or simply blue. And she was impressed at his body because at that height and age, he already had muscled arms and his physique looked strong.

And he thought of something else which made him blush and just turn away for a few moments before looking up again. "Have… you ever tried getting out of here?" he asked again with a hesitant tone.

She bowed down her head, letting her hair cover almost her whole face, but she did not say anything.

He looked down at her with curious eyes. He approached her when he remembered the feel of her small hands: cold. "Hey, maybe you'd like to warm your hands first. They were so cold," he told her as he got them from the water and lifted them towards the orb… and what he saw made his eyes widen in shock that he gasped.

She instantly withdrew her hand as she narrowed her eyes at him and turned back, putting her hands together and hiding her fingers against her chest.

She had no nails.

Realizing how he had reacted, he felt sheepish. "I'm… sorry… I was surprised," he said softly.

She did not say anything.

He imagined what it was like to have no fingernails… he cringed at the thought. "Wh…what happened, Samara?" he asked.

She refused to face him and she did not answer, still.

Feeling more down, he just sighed heavily and decided to take a look around, scanning the mossy walls around them… and somewhere just a few inches above him, he saw small white semi-oval-like translucent things on the wall.  Ten of those…  with some hand marks surrounding those… and those marks seemed to have been elongated when the hands pressed upon them slipped down.

Fingernails.

He frowned and bit his lower lip, thinking of what to do. "So she tried to climb out… but she can't hold on properly…" he thought silently before turning back to her, "Poor girl… I wish I could help her…" he sighed heavily. "Seven days?" he thought again before he crossed his arms to think and leaned back against the wall.

She just remained standing, her back facing him.

The silence between them was already beginning to scare him… but he tried not to mind it.


	5. Chapter Four

4 

            "Are you sure you know how to read that thing?" Kairi asked curiously as she looked up at the already-darkening skies.

Sora was busily trying to distinguish the south from the north while staring at the map. "I think this map is upside-down." He told her.

"Are you sure?" she asked before she studied it. She shook her head. "Nah. I think it's alright. From that map… I think we're near Rocket Town." She replied.

"How do you know?" he asked.

"Just a guess." She told him.

They were silent for a while before they both wailed in unison, realizing that they're lost. "Oh man!!! I wish daddy's here…" Sora said in annoyance before handing the map to Kairi.

"I thought you know how to read maps?" she asked with a worried look on her face.

"I thought I knew how to read maps until I got that map. I'm used to other maps but this is the first time I'm in this continent!" he explained with a somewhat sheepish look on his face.

"Don't tell me we're really lost?" she asked glumly.

"Not really." He said with a silly smile on his face.

"Aw, come on, Sora! We need to find Riku already or else his parents are really going to get worried!" she said before handing him the map again. "Why don't we retrace our steps again back to where we came from?" she suggested.

"We'll go back to Nibelheim? I can't go back there!" Sora told her.

"Why not?" she asked.

"Dad knows that I'm good in reading maps… I don't want to disappoint him…" he said with a disappointed smile on his face.

Kairi was silent for a while before she sighed heavily, "Well, I guess we'll just have to continue in our journey." She told him before turning away. "What is it with boys and their pride anyway?" she muttered.

"You're saying something?" he asked, turning to her and proceeding to follow her as she led the way to the forest.

"Oh nothing. It's just that I think boys are too proud of themselves." She told him frankly.

He frowned slightly. "What made you think so?" he demanded.

"Well… first there's my dad. Whenever he does something stupid, he wouldn't admit his mistake and would just blame the world for being _so unfair_ to him. Then there's that President Rufus guy… who's also the friend of your dad and Riku's dad… he is so arrogant. It's like he's showing the world how soft and shiny his hair is by flipping it in several occasions." She explained.

Sora raised his eyebrows at her.

"And then there's just something with boys not wanting to ask about directions whenever they're lost." She told him.

"Hey, I ask for directions!" he told her.

"But it will take you more than 10 days before you do so. You don't do it immediately," she answered.

"Because I want to learn by myself." He told her before he stopped upon hearing an owl making some noise.

"Aw, c'mon, Sora, don't tell me you're afraid of owls?" she teased before giggling.

"Why would I even be afraid of owls? Wait a minute, did you say that we're heading for Rocket Town?" Sora asked.

She nodded.

"I think we'd better avoid that place for a while." He told her.

She thought for a while before remembering that they just came from there that morning when they were to retrieve the box. "Oh yeah… you're right… but where are we going to sleep?" she asked.

"We can… look around the forest… and Corel's over there, right?" he asked, pointing to a direction.

Kairi was just silent as she observed Sora reading the map again. It was taking him a long time, and by the time he realized where to go, it was already night time.

"Sora, it's dark. We can't go on anymore." She said stiffly, eyeing her surroundings before gazing up at the full moon.

Then, there were howling sounds.

She shivered.

"Cool! Coyotes!" Sora said in amazement. "Can we look for those Coyotes?" he asked.

"Why would you even look for coyotes?" she asked frantically.

"I haven't seen coyotes before!" he said happily.

Kairi smiled weakly, "Sora, let's just look for a place to eat and then sleep. We'll continue looking for Riku tomorrow." She told him as she got his hand and dragged him to another direction.

She made sure that she remained clung to him as they walked together through the deep dark forest.

"What's in that box anyway?" Kairi asked.

"Hmm?" Sora asked.

"The box that we retrieved from that building in Rocket Town." She replied.

He shrugged. "I don't really know. Daddy refused to tell me what's inside. He said that I'm too young to understand… but I think he doesn't really know what's inside there too." He replied with a frown on his face.

"What do you suppose is inside?" Kairi asked curiously.

"Probably something really very expensive that belongs to President Rufus. The goonies wouldn't get it if it isn't valuable!" he said.

"Could it be a diamond of some sort?" she asked with a look of wonder on her face.

"Or maybe it's an artifact…" he said.

They continued to talk about the box and its possible content until they finally reached a clearing with a stream and a small hill.

"Whoa… it's so beautiful in here!" Kairi said happily.

Sora stared at the whole area with a look of awe on his face. "We can just camp out there by the stream so that we can catch some fish and then cook it!" he said with a pleased tone.

She nodded. "Alright!" she said.

            Riku's feet were already beginning to get numb. Obviously they cannot sit down unless they want to drown themselves. "Grrr… if I ever discover who that person is, I'm going to murder him!" he said angrily with his fists clenched.

"Who?" she asked.

"That guy who hit my head with a shovel and pushed me down here! I swear, I'll borrow my dad's Masamune and kill that person with it!" Riku snapped.

She just bowed down her head.

He calmed down a bit, realizing that his companion does not really seem to be interested in angry emotions. "I'm sorry if I'm over-reacting." He apologized quite weakly.

She just kept quiet and stared at the dark water.

He leaned back against the wall and crossed his arms across his chest, but he felt the box that's inside his shirt. He jerked in surprise before deciding to get the box and stared at it curiously.

Samara wondered what it was, so she approached him and stared at the box. "What is that?" she asked.

"I don't even know…" he told her before he slowly opened it… something silver shone. He narrowed his eyes at it before he got it, staring at it in awe. "Wow…" he said in awe.

It was a heart-shaped pendant with a necklace. Behind the pendant were some inscriptions… but they were too small to be read. There were bigger inscriptions engraved above the small ones. Riku read the characters carefully, "Shin-Ra…" he said softly.

Samara stiffened.

"What is ShinRa?" he asked.

She just kept quiet.

He sighed heavily. "Aw man… are we even going to get out of here?" he asked in annoyance, not interested in the box and its content anymore… after all, it's just a piece of jewelry.

"I'd hate to break this news to you, but we're both going to die here." She told him stiffly.

"I think so too…" he muttered miserably before staring at the pendant again. "I have no use with this anyway… and since the box is already dirty, might as well throw it away." He dropped the box into the water and watched it float for a while before it slowly sunk down and disappeared from sight. "You want this?" he asked, showing her the necklace.

She just kept quiet.

He smiled calmly at her, "I think it will fit you very well. I can't wear this, you know? I'm not a girl!" he told her, meaning to make her laugh even for a little.

She just kept quiet.

His smile faded away and decided to just go near her and make her wear the necklace with the pendant. She did not move as he placed it around her neck and fastened it carefully. "There you go." He told her.

She just stared up at him with a tired look on her face.

They were silent for a few seconds as he moved away from her and leaned back against the wall again. He could hear his own stomach grumbling already, but he did not mind. But then he began to think about homemade cooking… by his mother. His frown deepened when his grumbling stomach worsened. "Oh man… I wish I was home… then I can eat properly… and sit down… and sleep… and be warm…" he shivered when he felt the cold air. The water had turned cold too… "Samara," he began.

She just kept quiet. He wondered why she was always quiet… and she just stays in one place away from him with her hair covering her face. Gathering more guts to speak to her (because he had to admit that she's freaking him out already with her silence), he took a deep breath before proceeding, "Are you tired?"

She did not move.

He uncrossed his arms and placed them down on the water, feeling its coldness. "Do you feel cold?" he asked.

She slowly lifted up her gaze to him, "I'm used to this." She said softly.

"Poor girl… she must've been through a lot." He thought silently.

"Please don't pity me." She mentioned. His eyes widened in awe. "How… how did she know…" he thought silently. He shuddered. "Can she read my mind?" he thought silently.

"I want to fall asleep. I want to get out of here… but I cannot… so I just have to get used to this because… I am not normal." She told him.

He was silent, observing any more reactions from her, but there was none. He blinked and looked down at the water, "You can rest your head on my shoulder if you want," he said rather shyly.

She did not respond.

Curiously, he asked, "Can you read my mind?"

She still did not answer.

He sighed heavily before he placed his hands above his head and stretched lazily while yawning. "What is the matter with you? Why aren't you answering?" he asked rather impatiently.

She just kept quiet and turned away from him. With her back facing him, she just had her hands clasped together by her chest while her right thumb lightly touched the heart pendant. She stared blankly at the water with a sad look on her face.

"Man… I think I offended her…" he thought silently with a worried look on his face before he approached her and placed his hand on her right shoulder, "Does it hurt?" he asked.

She turned her head to her right and looked down at her shoulder.

"Your hands, I mean. I…have a spare cloth here… I mean, hanky. We can wrap them so that it will be clean," he began.

"It wouldn't be necessary. It's already dirty anyway. If I'm fated to have an infection, so be it. There's nothing I can do…" she said with a weary tone.

"Well… you could at least keep your hands off the water… to avoid further trouble with infection or…" he began, but she moved away from him and just went to another area, her back still facing him. "… I guess you simply don't care if you get an infection or not…" he said softly before sighing heavily. "Very well, I won't force you to do something you don't like." He told her before he leaned back against the wall, but still keeping an eye on her. "Say, where are you from anyway?" he asked curiously. Maybe by knowing her origins, he could determine why she was just so strange.

She did not answer. He smiled slightly. "I was born in Sector 1, Midgar, but I wasn't really raised there. My dad took me to several places even when I was only a newborn." He told her with a proud tone.

The mention of the place made her respond a little by turning her head to the side, as if meaning to look back at him. He could not tell whether she is really looking at him because he could not see her eyes because of her hair, but he still smiled kindly at her. "I'm the youngest of five children. The eldest one's in his late twenties. He's a guy… a very famous one. The second's a girl in her mid-twenties. She's also famous, I guess… then there's the third in his early twenties. The fourth one's also in the early twenties. I'm 15 years old." He explained.

She just kept quiet and looked away again, bowing down her head.

"What about you, Samara, how many are you in your family?" he asked.

"Don't you ever shut up?" she asked rather mindlessly. She does not really want to talk about her origins and she definitely hates talking about herself.

He frowned slightly, "Alright, I'm sorry if I'm talking too much. I just want to get to know you better." He said before he crossed his arms and turned his head to his side with a frustrated look on his face. "Besides, I don't want to spend my time here waiting to drown…"

"What for? We're both going to die here, anyway." She responded.

"Because the silence between us is really beginning to give me the creeps!" he admitted.

She kept quiet for a while before she turned to face him again. He thought he saw her smirk at him, even though he still could not see her eyes. He could just see her lips curved into a kind of smile which gave him the creeps.

"Alright. If it pleases you… We're six in the family. Mommy, daddy, an older sister, a twin brother and myself, and a younger sister. My older sister is in her early twenties. My twin brother is 10 just like me. My younger sister is 8." She said.

He calmed down a little. "Well… finally she said something!" he thought happily before proceeding to talk, "What are their names?" he asked.

She clenched her fists, "You sound like a psychiatrist interrogating a mentally-ill patient to see if she can still remember right." She muttered.

His eyes widened in disbelief. "Hey, it was an innocent question! Besides, I'm not a psychiatrist! I'm just a kid! And how would you know how a psychiatrist could ask such questions? Have you been to one?" he demanded rather mindlessly, trying to defend himself.

She immediately clutched her head with her hands before turning away from him. He froze. "I…Is there something wrong?" he asked as he approached her.

She turned back to him and screamed, "Don't come closer!"

He was frozen in his tracks, listening to the echoes caused by her scream. It somehow made him felt so numb. "Did… I say something bad?" he asked.

She was gasping as she turned away from him again, but she did not say anything.

"Samara," he began as he approached her and touched her shoulder to make her face him, but he froze when he felt some excruciating pain in his chest… specifically, his heart. He clenched his teeth as he cringed in pain. "Ah… ow… what's… what's happening to me?" he struggled to say.

His grip tightened on her shoulder as he struggled to say her name, "Sa… Sam… Samara…"

The light from the orb was already flickering rather violently. He forced her to face him, but what he saw made him feel so cold and freaked-out all of a sudden. She was staring up at him; her face still covered with her own hair, but he could see her left eye, staring widely at him. Trying to support his own weight while he kept his eye on her.

His eyes widened when she reached for his right wrist with her right hand and grasped it rather tightly. "Samara, what are you doing?" he asked with a mixture of shock, fear and confusion. She just sneered at him as she kept on staring at him. Finally, when the orb of light faded away, he lost his consciousness and fell against her, his head resting on her shoulder while his hands limped against himself. She leaned backward against the mossy wall to support his weight.

Silence filled the atmosphere of the whole well, but she did not mind. She was used to it. But still, she felt something in her heart which made her feel so sad. She smiled bitterly as she looked up into the darkness above her and began to sing with a soft tone,

_There's a summer place_

_Where it may rain or storm     _

_Yet I'm safe and warm         _

_For within that summer place               _

_Your arms reach out to me                     _

_And my heart is free from all care …_

_For it knows                                 _

_There are no gloomy skies                                   _

_When seen through the eyes                                     _

_Of those who are blessed with love…_


	6. Chapter Five

5 

            "Kairi," Sora began.

"Hmm?" Kairi responded as she continued to walk. It was early in the morning but they decided to just go on with their journey. Besides, it seemed so dangerous to stay in one place when some goonies are just after them.

"Where's the map?" he asked.

She stopped walking, so did he. "What do you mean _where's the map_?" she asked with a nervous tone.

He smiled weakly upon remembering that it was such a cold and windy evening last night… "I think the wind must've blown it away while we were asleep." He told her.

"What?! But I thought you were sleeping on it?" she asked in confusion.

"I was… but I move a lot… I must've moved away from it because when I woke up, my foot was already dipped in the stream." He replied sheepishly.

Her eyes widened. "Oh my GAWD!!! How could you lose the map?!" she asked in shock before she covered her face and then turned away from him. She removed her hands from her face and looked around. "Now we're really lost…" she said softly.

"No we're not! We could ask for directions from the people who live in that house!" Sora said, pointing towards a small cottage with a stone well beside it.

Kairi stared at the cottage for a few seconds before turning to Sora with a ridiculous look on her face, "I think that place is already deserted, Sora." She pointed out.

He slouched. "You're right… let's just get going." He told her before proceeding to the other direction away from the cottage. Sighing, Kairi just decided to follow after him.

            Riku slowly opened his eyes when he realized that he was floating on water. The first thing he saw was the circular light above him. "Where am I?" he thought.

At an instant, he recalled what happened, and he panicked. He tried to get up immediately, but he slipped because of the mossy ground that he's stepping on and so he fell backwards. He swallowed some water and it tasted… murky… He immediately got up, holding on to Samara before he spewed out some water and then gasped for air while coughing. "What… what happened?!" he asked her before forming another orb-like light.

She just stared at him.

He shuddered upon looking at her face, "Gee… did you even sleep last night?" he asked.

She just kept quiet. Her face seemed to look paler than before… and her eyes already have dark circles around them… like she's wearing purple eyeshadow and dark eyeliner.

Sighing heavily, he stretched before looking up at the circular light above them. "You know, we could try climbing up there." He told her.

She looked up with a solemn look on her face, but she turned back to him when he reacted upon realizing that he was in pain last night and that excruciating pain was what made him faint. "What… happened to me?" he asked in shock before turning to her. He stared at her like he was accusing her of something, but she just smiled slightly at him, "Aren't you afraid of me?" she asked.

He raised an eyebrow at her. "Huh? Well, no, even though you're not exactly normal… why do you ask?"

"I tried to kill you last night." She said with a playful tone. His eyes widened at her, but he could not say anything.

"Come on, Riku. Say it. Say that I'm a freak. C'mon, Riku. I don't mind." She told him with a playful and inviting tone.

But he just softened his facial expression and smiled at her. "How can a sweet-looking girl like you be capable of killing me? Maybe it was just a heartburn. C'mon, hold on to my back. I'll jump high enough where there's no moss and then climb the rest out of here." He told her with a kind tone before looking up again at the circular light.

Her smile faded away. She wanted to scare him, but now he did not look afraid… and he was not even convinced that she tried to kill him last night. Frustrated, she demanded, "What's wrong with you?"

"Huh?" he wondered as he looked down at her again.

She approached him. "Aren't you afraid of me? I have abilities no other human being has. I'm trapped in this place and it's so dark in here, I could be an equivalent of a closet monster or worse!" she told him.

He laughed at her, "Aw, c'mon, Samara. I'm not afraid of closet monsters anymore." He told her playfully.

She frowned at him.

He stopped and then sighed heavily, "Okay, do you want me to be afraid of you?" he asked.

She just bowed down her head but did not say anything.

He smiled calmly as he took her hand and examined it, not caring if she had any fingernails or not. "C'mon, let's get you out of here and have your hands treated. Don't want to die of an infection, right?" he asked before he turned his back to her and bent down a little. "Put your arms around me." He instructed.

She stared unbelievably at him. Blushing, she slowly wrapped her arms around him, above his shoulders. He stood up straight again. "Well, you're not heavy. I can jump higher!" he told her with a pleased tone before he proceeded to jump up.

He reached past halfway of the well and he instantly grabbed hold of two rocks sticking out slightly from the wall. Grunting, he used his feet to feel for any support below so that he could proceed to climb up. "You alright?" he asked her.

"Yeah." She told him as she looked down again. "Riku, don't look down," she told him.

"Why?" he asked.

"Go on… just don't look down. Hurry!" she said, her tone turning frantic.

He obeyed her, but he began to feel nervous too because of her tone.

Samara looked back, down below. Her eyes wide in fear. "Riku, hurry up!" she said frantically.

"I _am_ hurrying up, Samara!" he told her.

"HURRY UP!!!" she repeated, this time, she was really panicking.

"Samara, what is wrong with…" he turned his head to the side to look at her but what he saw made him almost lose his grip and slip down. To him, her face seemed to appear blank… like she had no nose and mouth… it's just her left eye staring back at him widely. He screamed…

            Sora and Kairi froze in their tracks upon hearing the familiar voice screaming. "Riku!" the former exclaimed, his blue eyes widening as he rushed back towards the direction where they came from.

"Sora! Where is he?" she asked, running after him.

"It's coming from the cottage!" Sora told her as he ran faster.

They finally arrived at the cottage, feeling exhausted and nervous. "Where is he?" she asked frantically.

Sora took a deep breath before screaming, "Riku!!!" his voice echoing all over the place.

After a few moments, he heard a response, "Sora! Open the lid!"

Kairi and Sora's eyes widened in shock and disbelief as they turned towards the well. "Oh my God…" she said softly as she covered her mouth.

Sora frowned and instantly ran towards the well. "Kairi, help me push!" he commanded. She instantly ran to him. "Alright. One, two… urgh!!!!" Sora began to push with Kairi. The stone lid was really heavy, but they tried their best to push it off the well.

"Riku, hang on in there!" Sora called out.

Finally, they were able to get the lid off the well and they peered inside. It was dark, but they could make out some silver hair moving closer to them. "Oh my goodness! Riku!" Sora exclaimed in disbelief. "How the hell did he end up inside?!" he thought silently as he reached out a hand to him and offered his other hand to Kairi. "Kairi, hold on to me. I'm pulling him up. I want you to pull us, alright?" he asked.

She nodded as she took him by the arm, locking her arm with his while her other hand held on tightly to his upper arm.

Riku looked up at Sora and smiled in relief at him. "Finally!" he gasped out.

Sora's eyes widened upon seeing a black-haired girl wearing white holding onto Riku. "What the…" he began, but he just pushed his thoughts aside when Riku finally reached out a hand to him. Sora grabbed his arm and began to pull him up, out of the well.

"Almost there, Samara," Riku said to the girl reassuringly.

She just tightened her grip around him, but she was slowly slipping from him. Her hands were really in pain and she felt so numb. "Samara, don't let go!" Riku told her.

She wasn't saying anything, but she was really slipping from him.

And just when Riku had already managed to step out and help her off him, that's when Samara finally slipped away from him.

"NO!" he cried out as he instantly reached for her hand that was reaching up to him. He caught her by the wrist. Sora instantly grabbed Riku's waist and pulled him backward.

"Hurry, I can't hold on!" Riku told them.

Kairi was trying to pull Sora, but Riku was too heavy.

Samara looked down again and her eyes revealed to Riku that she was seeing something really scary… but how come he could not see it? She looked up at him again, her eyes telling him, "Let go of me, Riku,"

He frowned at her and stiffened his facial expression as he proceeded to pull her up, this time, his two hands holding her and trying to pull her out of the well.

But she was still slipping.

"Whoa, what are you kids doing here?" they heard a gruff tone ask from behind them. Kairi felt a pair of big and strong hands grab her by the waist and pulled backward; and in an instant, they were all pulled out from their agony.

The four landed on the ground on top of one another.

"Ugh… ow…" Kairi muttered. Sora moved away from the heavy Riku and gasped heavily. "Geez… thanks, mister." Sora told the man.

The man had a tobacco cigar in his mouth and he had blonde hair and he was wearing goggles on top of his forehead. "It's nothing. Next time you kids will know better than to frolic by the well." He told them.

"You alright?" Riku asked as he slowly got up, but was also helping Samara too. She did not answer. She just kept her head bowed down.

Sora and Kairi stared curiously at the man, realizing that he looked somewhat familiar.

"What are you kids doing in a place like this anyway?" the man asked from them.

"I… the two of us fell inside the well… mister…" Riku explained as he took Samara's hand in his.

The man plus Kairi and Sora had wide eyes upon hearing that. "What? But… how?" she asked in awe.

"I don't know. But… she was the first one inside. Someone knocked the lights off me and pushed me inside then placed a lid on the well… and when I woke up she's already there." Riku responded.

The man stared strangely at Riku before turning to Sora, then to Kairi, and then Samara. He stared curiously at the black-haired girl and noticed the paleness of her hands. "Holy #$%!?!" he cussed in awe.

Samara just hid behind Riku.

Riku turned back to the man with a weak smile on his face, "Sir, do you know a place where we can take her? Her hands… need a little… help." He explained rather hesitantly.

The man thought for a while with a deep frown on his face. "Well… yeah… but the hospital in Rocket Town's closed for reconstruction. There were lots of trouble yesterday… but I can accommodate her in my house in the same area. C'mon kids." He said, leading the way.

While walking, Sora and Kairi were staring curiously at Samara, but Riku was giving them a kind of stare that told them not to make a big fuss about the girl, so the two just turned away and looked up at the man who helped them, "My name is Sora. These are my friends Kairi, Riku and…" Sora began, and then eyeing Riku as if asking for the girl's name.

Riku turned to Sora with a serious look on his face, "Samara." He replied with a hard tone.

"Well, I'm Cid. Nice to meet ya young fellows." The man replied with a sly grin on his face before turning to study the four youngsters. Riku, Kairi and Sora were all gaping at him in disbelief. "OH RIGHT! Cid! Cid Highwind!!!" the three chorused excitedly, finally able to recognize him, surprising the man, making him jerk slightly. "Yeah, yeah, kiddies. Well it's so nice seein' ya again. And I don't know why I wasn't able to recognize you at first…" he muttered glumly before turning back to Samara. "Must be because I could recall that there were only three of you back then… now you're four. May I ask whose kid is that?" he asked with a sly smile on his face. The three had resemblances to their parents, but in Samara, he could not see or recall any… except for the blue eyes. "Is she your sister, Sora?" Cid asked.

Sora's eyes widened in surprise as he shook his head frantically, "Oh no, Mister Highwind. My sister's got green eyes." He explained.

Cid scratched his head before saying, "Well, never knew you had a sister…" and he stared at the jet-black hair of the little girl and then turned to Riku. "She's from your family?" he asked.

Riku shook his head. "No." he replied. Cid must've thought about his mother.

"So, little girl, where are you from?" Cid asked with a jolly smile on his face.

She did not answer at first, but softly, she replied, "From an empire."

Silence.

"Empire? What kind of empire?" Cid asked curiously. Maybe the girl's hallucinating or something… and she's making it all up.

But she did not answer anymore. She just made sure that her hair covered her eyes but she kept on staring at the ground.

"Never knew you lived in Rocket Town, Mister Highwind." Sora said.

"Yeah, yeah. Now don't tell you folks, 'ayt? Don't want them visiting me and bothering my new life." Cid told them.

"But they're just in Nibelheim in case you want to visit them." Sora said.

"You guys live there?" Cid asked.

"We have a house there. It's the house where dad was born and raised by his mom, my grandmother. But we mostly stay in Sector 2 in Midgar. We have another house there near the entrance to Sector 1." Sora explained with a proud look on his face.

"You seem so happy about it." Cid muttered.

"Yep!" Sora responded joyfully.

Cid rolled his eyes. "Well, you wouldn't be happy if you heard about the history of Midgar. You wanna hear it? I can summarize it in one word!" he told him.

"Never mind. You might say something bad." Kairi chimed in.

"What?" Cid demanded from him.

"Mommy told me that I shouldn't listen to you because bad words tend to come out from your mouth, Mister Highwind. Heehee." Kairi explained with a playful chuckle.

"Oh, how true, how true. Dad also told me about it too." Sora chimed in.

"Man, you kids are really beginning to bother me! Why, if your folks weren't my friends from way back, I would've just pushed all of you inside the well! Har har har har har!" Cid laughed.

"Ugh… that's so cruel. Are you sure you'd want to do that?" Kairi asked him with a bitter look on her face.

"Yeah. Coz my mom could just hit you with her metal rod." Sora said airily.

Cid stopped laughing. "Alright, alright. Feh. You little weasels." And turned to Riku, going to him and then patting his head. "Heh heh. And how about you?  You haven't heard anything bad about me, huh?" he asked.

Riku hesitated for a while before answering, "Well… actually, mommy told me that I shouldn't say bad words… or say curses just like you."

Cid's smile faded. "I'm gonna have to have a word with your mommy," he muttered miserably before turning to Samara. She just kept on staring at the ground, avoiding everyone's gazes.

Finally, they arrived in Rocket Town.

"Whoa… the goonies really did a lot of stuff here yesterday," Sora said with an overwhelmed look on his face upon scanning part of the destroyed area.

"So you guys were the reason for the destruction of some of the buildings here, huh? Most especially the hospital." Cid told them.

Sora laughed sheepishly. "Well, not really, sir. But the enemies were in the hospital so we were asked to go there." He responded.

"Yeah, whatever. But at least the Prez is getting those places reconstructed tomorrow." Cid said before leading the way to a house far from the ruins. It was a two-storey house made of bricks. He stepped up the front porch and opened the door. "SHERA!!!" he called out in a loud but gruff tone which made some of the furniture shake. The four youngsters who were with him jerked at the tone of his voice.

Cid stepped inside and let the four in before he shut the door with a bang. Then, they heard some noise from the kitchen, sounds of footsteps running to them. A brown-haired woman wearing round glasses came rushing to them while holding a frying pan in her right hand. She was wearing a brown apron over a white laboratory coat. She looked somewhat dazed and messed-up, but she still smiled happily at Cid, "Darling!" she greeted before running to him and then embracing him before giving him a kiss on his cheek.

Cid slightly pushed her away, "Gah! You smell like fried fish!" he told her.

She giggled. "Oh, that's for lunch!" she turned to the youngsters, "Oh my. Who are they?" she asked in awe.

"Cloud's boy, Sephiroth's boy, Yuffie's girl… and Samara." Cid introduced while pointing each at the four.

"Sora." Sora introduced formally.

"He's Riku. And I'm Kairi." Kairi said with a weak smile on her face.

Shera was about to shake hands with the four, but she froze when she sniffed something burning. "Oh my goodness! I did it again! Wait a sec, alright?" she asked with a sheepish look on her face before she rushed back to the kitchen.

"Oh man, Shera!? You wasted another fish!" Cid snapped.

"It's alright, dear! Just a false alarm! I thought it's something burning!" she called out from the kitchen.

He turned to the four with a weak smile on his face, "That's Shera, my wife. Sit there in the living room for a while. Make yourselves comfortable and I'll take over the cooking because we might have nothing to eat for lunch… and I'll ask her to help you with what you need, alright?" he told them before rushing to the kitchen and shouted, "Fuck it, Shera! Get out of here and go to those kids! I'm takin' over!"

"Oh dear… alright. But I have to go back to the lab later after lunch! Palmer's constructing another rocket to be launched on the First Lady's next birthday in May. It's supposed to be the Prez's gift to her." They heard Shera respond.

Samara turned her attention to the direction of the kitchen upon hearing that as she sat down on the couch with Riku.

"Cool! They have TV!" Sora said happily before he got the remote and switched it on.

"Music Channel! Music Channel!" Kairi cheered.

"Yeah!" Riku said happily as Sora switched to the Music Channel.

Samara looked away and turned her attention to the TV.

"So, you kids enjoying?" Shera asked as she came to them with a first aid kit in her hands. She sat down beside Samara. "Why are you hiding your face behind that hair?" she asked curiously before she reached for her hair and pushed it to the sides, tucking it behind her ears. Shera's eyes widened in awe upon realizing what a pretty child Samara is. "Oh my… you see? You're so pretty! You should let people see your face. Who knows, you could get known for it." She said sweetly as she gently caressed the little girl's cheek.

Samara did not smile. She just looked up rather hesitantly at Shera and then looked down at her own hands. Shera got her hands and examined them. "Cid told me all about the well thing in the kitchen before I got the first aid kit. Goodness, dear, you're so pale!" she said.

Unknown to all of them, Riku was not really watching TV. Instead, he was looking at Samara, examining her face. It was the first time he completely saw how she looked like without the hair framing the sides of her face.

Kairi leaned back on the couch and looked up at the ceiling, letting her gaze roam around for a while… and then landed on Samara. She had never seen such skin with porcelain-like texture before… and it blends well with the jet-black hair and the icy blue eyes.

As Shera was disinfecting Samara's hands, Sora began to surf through the channels.

"Hey, I was watching that!" Kairi told Sora with a protesting tone as she tried to grab the remote from him.

"Well that music video is boring!" he responded before stumbling upon the news channel.

"_Today's headlines say that there's going to be another big threat to the Planet, not because of the rebuilding of the Mako Reactors, but because of a threat to it. Further investigations reveal that an unknown force is trying to make use of the Mako energy for its own purpose of mass destruction. People are blaming ShinRa again for these problems even though the people at ShinRa claim that they have nothing to do with these problems…_"

The TV reception suddenly turned into static, which surprised Shera, Kairi, Sora and Riku, making their hearts jump… and for some unknown reason, they felt goosebumps all over their body.

Sora began to switch through the other channels, but everything's in static. "Man, what's going on?" he asked with a perplexed look on his face.

"Strange. That has never happened before… maybe there's something wrong with the reception…" Shera pointed out as she began to wrap Samara's right hand with a bandage. "Your fingernails will grow back, don't worry. But in the meantime, keep your hands away from anything dirty, okay?" she said gently.

Frustrated, Sora was about to switch off the TV, but before he could press the button, the reception returned… but it only showed a well.

The well from beside the cottage.

"Hey… what the…" Sora began.

"Isn't that the well from the cottage?" Kairi asked in awe.

Sora decided to switch to other channels, but all the other channels contained the same broadcast. "What's going on?" he asked in confusion.

"Is this cable TV, Mrs. Highwind?" Kairi asked.

"It's got cable, UHF, satellite and local channels." Shera responded mindlessly; all her attention is in wrapping the bandages around Samara's other hand.

"Just turn it off if it bothers you," Riku told Sora.

"Yeah, it's beginning to give me the creeps," Sora responded before pushing the button… but it won't turn off. After several failed repetitions, he just got up and manually pushed the power button on the TV itself, but it still won't turn off.

"Mrs. Highwind, I think there's something wrong with your TV. It won't turn off." Sora declared with a weak tone.

Shera had finally finished with the bandages before she stood up. "What? Oh dear…" she said in annoyance before she went to the TV and tried to turn it off by pushing the power button again. Nothing happened. Confused, she just decided to pull out the plug.

The TV switched off.

"There you go." She said cheerfully before heading for the kitchen, but she stopped, and so did everyone else when the TV switched on by itself again, but it's in static.

They all felt their hairs rising.

"Okay… this is really scary…" Kairi muttered to Sora as she hid behind his him while staring at the TV.

They were all interrupted when Cid called out with a loud tone which made all of them jerk again, "SHERA!!!"

All eyes turned to the dining area.

The TV switched off again.

Shera just smiled weakly at them, "Must be a bug." She said before rushing to the dining area. "Honey, I think there's something wrong with the TV." They heard her say.

Then, they heard some crash from the dining area.

"AARGH! Shera?!" Cid cried out in annoyance.

"Oops! I'm sorry, dear! Here, let me clean it up for you…"

Then another crash was heard.

"Doh! Never mind, Shera! We'll just order some pizza!" he snapped impatiently.

Sora and Kairi plopped down on the sofa. "Looks like we're going to wait for food here…" he told her. She just nodded before she got a photo album from underneath the coffee table and began to browse through the pictures. Sora began to read some sports magazine he found just on top of the end table beside the couch.

Samara just kept her eyes on the TV for a few more moments before turning her gaze down to her hands wrapped in clean white bandages. Unknown to her, Riku was just observing her… especially during the events moments ago when the TV wouldn't switch off and the static thing. He realized that there was something really odd about her… and he wanted to know who she really is. Then, he remembered something from the well… what happened last night and what he saw moments ago when they were climbing up… and why she was so afraid to look down.

He recalled seeing her without a face, and he only saw her eye staring widely at him. It also scared it and made him scream. He just calmed down when he turned away and heard her say to him, "Riku, hurry up! Please!"

Snapping out of his thoughts, he frowned slightly as he asked her inquiringly, "You alright?"

She just bowed down her head, her hair slipping from behind her ears and framing her face again.

He turned to his two other friends to see if they're listening or watching him, and he felt relieved when he realized that they were busily looking at magazines and pictures. With that, he turned back to Samara and said, "Did you see anything in the well?" he asked.

The question caught the attention of Sora and Kairi and they slowly turned their gazes to the two.

Riku proceeded, "I… Samara, I… thought I saw a monster behind me…" he began.

"So you think I'm a monster… that's what they always say… I _am_ a monster…" Samara muttered as she clenched her fists.

"No… it could have been a hallucination because we were already panicking! But…" Riku began defensively.

She looked up at him with a hurtful look in her eyes, but she looked so angry all of a sudden, "You wouldn't understand… nobody could understand… and nobody could help me… because everybody hates me!" she hissed.

"Wh…what? But why? What's making you say that?" Kairi asked as she got up and went closer to them, kneeling down before Samara. Sora followed after her and sat down on the arm rest beside Samara. "What did you see back there?" he asked curiously.

She was silent for a few moments before replying, "I… saw… a lady… she looks like an older version of myself… but she had no face. I only saw her eye… and she… wants me to stay inside." She sounded like she was about to cry, but she did not.

The eyes of her three listeners widened in shock upon hearing that, but they were not able to say anything else.

"Samara, could you tell us who pushed you inside the well? I promise, we'll get even with him!" Riku told her with a determined look on his face as he moved closer to her.

She shook her head frantically as she looked up at him with wide blue eyes, "No! I can't! If I tell you or anyone, he'll kill my mommy and daddy! I cannot let that happen! I have to see my mommy and daddy… I have to find them myself… see them for one last time before… before I go back to the well… and stay… there…" she trailed off when she felt her own tears streaming down her face. She sniffed and immediately wiped them away with the back of her right hand. She hated crying.

Kairi examined the hurtful look in her eyes before she reached out and gave her a friendly and comforting embrace. "Aww… it's alright, Samara." She said softly with a sad look on her face.

"But… what does he want from you?" Sora asked.

Kairi let go of her before she proceeded, "He's… a Doctor. The Doctor is bad… he hates my daddy and my mommy… The Doctor wanted me to do bad things for his own sake… but I would not let him hurt  my mommy and daddy… even though he told me that they don't love me anymore because they were the ones who gave me to him because I'm a freak. I made him very angry a week ago … I did something bad… so he injected some poison into me. But I resisted and ran away. He followed me. The poison weakened me so I had to crawl… and before I could stand up again, he hit me with a shovel at the back of my head and neck…" she explained, her gaze at the floor.

Kairi, Sora and Riku were too shocked to react. A little girl that age had experienced a lot of abuse… and it made them cringe at the thought.

"Who… is The Doctor?" Kairi asked with a worried look on her face.

Samara shook her head. "I don't know… that's all I know about him." She told them.

"How does he look like?" Sora asked.

"I can't tell you! He will kill my mommy and daddy!" she responded with a frantic look on her face. She was already slightly gasping for air and she was having a hard time breathing, but she still sat still.

Riku frowned before asking, "Why… would your parents even hate you?" he asked.

"Because I am not normal… The Doctor says so…" she said softly.

"Why? What is so… abnormal about you?" Kairi asked, not really being able to see anything further wrong with her aside from being strangely quiet and too pale.

"I killed people, okay?!" Samara cried out, and as she did so, the lights began to flicker and there were slight tremors.

The three were stunned. Cid and Shera also felt the tremors and noticed the flickering of the lights.

After Samara had calmed down, the flickering and the tremors stopped. She looked up at Riku. "People hate my daddy because of his name… but he's trying to change everything. But there are still those who continue to try to ruin his reputation. I wouldn't let anybody hurt my mommy and daddy… so I killed those people. I made their hearts stop… they all fell to the ground like dead flies. No one else knew how they died but me and my mommy and daddy… and this lady doctor who also takes care of me… but somehow, The Doctor found out about it."

Riku's eyes widened in awe upon remembering what happened to himself last night. The ache in his chest… in his heart… like he was having a heart-attack… and when she healed his wound from behind his head…

And recently, the TV that would not switch off.

"Where… where are your mommy and daddy now?" Sora asked gently.

Samara just shook her head. "I don't know…" she said softly.

"Samara, can't you tell us who they are so that we can take you to them?" Kairi asked.

She shook her head. "I can't tell you… The Doctor will kill you too…"she said. She bowed down her head and let her hair cover her face. "I just want to see them for one last time… in person… even if they don't come near me, it's alright. But then I have to find the doctor again if I want to become normal… because he told me before that he will help me from my curse so that mommy and daddy will love me again…" She said as she sniffed and let more of her tears fall from her eyes.

Sora bit his lower lip and exchanged pitiful glances with Kairi and Riku before turning back to Samara and got her hand gently. She stopped crying and slightly raised her gaze to him even though he could not see her eyes. He smiled gently at her. "We'll help you find them." He decided, even though at the back of his mind, he knew that his parents might get worried if he does not return immediately with the box and Riku. Speaking of the box and Riku… "Say, Riku, where's the box?"

Silence.

"What box?" Riku asked.

"The box we retrieved from the hospital building yesterday?" Sora asked.

Riku thought for a while before replying, "Left it in the well… but the content's with Samara. I just let her have it. After all, it's just a necklace with a pendant."

"What?!" Sora and Kairi exclaimed in unison.

They were interrupted when they heard Cid's voice from the dining area, "HEY, PIZZA'S HERE!"

"C'mon, kids!" Shera called out.

Sora and Kairi got up. "C'mon. We'll discuss it later." He told them.

Riku slowly got up with a grunt before offering his hand to Samara. "C'mon. You look too famished." He told her with a kind smile on his face. She just kept quiet before she got up on her own, refusing to let him help her. With that, the four proceeded to the dining area.

            He finally arrived back inside the underground laboratory. After inspecting a time table, he nodded his head in approval with a sly smile on his face before going up again. It was actually his private laboratory and nobody knew where it was. It's located underneath an old cottage and the passageway going underground is located underneath one of the floorboards. When he emerged from down below, he closed the passageway and locked it before putting the set of removable floorboards on top of it. He began to whistle a happy tune before proceeding out of the cottage, dusting his white lab coat and then putting his hands behind his back. With that, he gleefully walked towards the well… but he stopped whistling when he realized that the well does not have a lid anymore. "What the…" he had managed to say with a look of awe on his face as he immediately rushed to the well. He saw that the lid was on the dusty ground, and then decided to peer inside the well. He frowned angrily as he clenched his fists before proceeding to gather some stones and threw them forcefully, one by one, inside the well. He was expecting to hear some noises, but there were none. He just shrugged. "Oh well… they could be dead anyway." He told himself before turning away from the well with a sly smile on his face. "What a pity. She was a pretty girl… and he was a handsome boy." He laughed heartily before he placed his hands behind his back and began to walk away from the well while whistling a happy tune. "Time to switch to another project… The girl was useless anyway. The damn brat wouldn't cooperate." He thought angrily to himself.


	7. Chapter Six

6 

            After taking their lunch, Kairi and Sora helped Cid in doing the dishes because Shera had to go back to the laboratory.

"Where does she work?" Sora asked curiously.

"The ShinRa Space Development Division. She's a scientist there. She helps develop rockets and stuff so most of the time, she's just inside the laboratory developing new stuffs for rockets." Cid explained.

"Stuffs like what?" Kairi asked curiously.

"Nothin' that would interest ya, missy. You're a girl. You won't be interested in technical and mechanical stuff." Cid snapped at her.

She frowned at him. "Well your wife's a girl too, and she's interested in those kinda stuff. So tell me." She said rather airily.

Sora just nudged her lightly while scrubbing one dish with a steel scrubber. She just made a face. She doesn't care if it's dangerous to make Cid angry. "What can he do? He'll just cuss and cuss and cuss." She was thinking silently. To change the subject, Sora just chimed in, "And what about you, where do you work?" he asked him.

"Same place where she works. But not in the laboratory. Instead, I pilot those space and aircrafts." Cid explained with a proud look on his face.

"Cool! Have you ever explored outer space?" Sora asked in awe.

Cid had this frustrated look on his face, "I was supposed to… but that damn girl had to get in the way… that was years before." He muttered miserably.

"Who?" Kairi and Sora asked curiously.

Cid just looked outside the window as he sighed heavily; the backyard could be seen from the window by the sink. He was watching Riku climbing the tall mango tree while Samara just remained seated on the swing hanging by one of the strong branches of the same tree. She was looking up at him. "I tell you, kids. You can really find love in the strangest places." He simply said.

"What do you mean?" Kairi asked curiously.

"Har har har!" Cid laughed heartily before proceeding, "Well, you know how Sora's folks met? Cloud and Aerith? He fell from the skies and landed on her flowerbed!" He froze. "Okay… that has a double meaning…" he muttered to himself.

Kairi just stared at him. Sora blushed slightly before clearing his throat. "Ahem! Eheheh… never mind that… but… what made you say so that you can find love in the strangest places?" he asked with a weak smile on his face.

"Well, in my case, that damn girl, Shera; I just couldn't hate that woman… even if she's the one who ruined my dream before." Cid told them softly as he watched Riku jump down from the highest branch down to the ground before Samara. She just stared blankly at him like she was not impressed. He watched Riku slouch and cross his arms, frowning at her. That's when she smiled slightly… but there was a mocking look on her face.

Cid just shook his head while saying, "Tsk, tsk, tsk, tsk, tsk… At first glance, I thought she's Teef." He muttered.

Sora and Kairi looked up at Cid curiously. "Huh?" the latter asked.

"Nothing. Okay short man, finish those and then I'll give you guys a lift home." Cid told them as he patted Sora's head, leaving some soap suds on his spiky brown hair. Cid went over to the fridge and got himself a can of root beer. "Oh darn! The dame Shera didn't buy any beer! Oh well… this fucking root beer will do… for now. Gotta stop by the goddamn grocery later on…" he said out loud.

Sora made a disgusted face upon realizing that there were suds on his hair already. "Uh… no thanks, sir. We'll just walk home. Besides, we still need to find someone." He told Cid.

"Who're you gonna look for?" Cid responded before he sat down on the kitchen counter.

"Some… doctor." Sora replied with a weak smile on his face before looking at Kairi. He nudged her to back him up. Kairi shrugged and turned to Cid. "An… Ooga-booga doctor." She said with a silly smile on her face.

Cid raised an eyebrow, "Ooga-booga?" he asked in confusion. He thought for a while before nodding his head, "Oh… a doctor who practices alternative medicine like using herbs for healing diseases? Why would you even want to see that kind of doctor?" he asked with a perplexed look on his face.

"Well… I want to learn voodoo. Heheh. Goofy told me that it's a useful fighting… tool… yeah. A technique." Sora explained.

"Hmm… I don't trust that dog." Cid muttered with an annoyed look on his face before he gulped down the contents of the root beer can.

Sora and Kairi just kept quiet, proceeding with their work. Finally, when they were already finished with the dishes, they were ready to set out for another journey. "Okay, Mister Highwind, we'll have to go now. Thanks for your time." Kairi said with a sweet smile on her face before she got out through the back door and headed for Riku and Samara.

Sora wiped his hands on a towel before approaching Cid. "Thanks for your help Mister Cid. We really appreciate it." He told him.

Cid just nodded before he threw the empty root beer can in the bin. He let out a disgusting belch before turning his gaze outside in the backyard, looking at Samara. "That girl with you… where is she from?" he asked.

Sora looked outside the window, observing Samara who was still seated on the swing. He just shrugged. "That's why we're going on a journey to find out who she is…" he thought silently, but did not really tell Cid the truth. Then, he remembered something. He turned back to Cid with a curious look on his face, "Hey, you mentioned something a while ago… something about… Samara looking like someone?" he asked.

Cid thought for a while before he chuckled lightly. "Oh… that? Nah. Just a thought when I was looking at her at first glance. Forget about it." He said before patting Sora's head again, "Get outta here, boy." He snapped; but before Sora could go, he called out his name again, "Sora,"

The boy looked back at him curiously. Cid had a serious look on his face, "You watch out for those Mako-hungry goonies, you hear?" he asked.

Sora just smiled and saluted before running out to the backyard. "Alright, let's get going!" he told his companions.

            The sun was already setting but she still remained seated by the window inside the masters' bedroom. She hasn't even switched on the lights, but she did not care about the dimness of the room. It did not alarm her if she had to walk in the dark later on.

Sighing heavily, her crimson eyes looked down to her hands holding a girl doll wearing a long white plain dress and white shoes. The doll had long shiny jet-black hair made out of synthetic fiber. She sighed again as she stroked the doll's hair with a bitter smile on her face.

"Tifa,"

She slowly turned around to face her husband who was approaching her with a stiff look on his face. She smiled cheerfully at him, "Hey, Rufus." She greeted as she welcomed him with open arms. He let her hug him, but he did not hug her back. "You alright?" he asked her. There were hints of worry in his voice and in his eyes even though it did not show in his facial expression.

She nodded. "I'm alright. Any news?" she asked.

Rufus stared at her for a while before shaking his head in a "no". She lowered her gaze to the ground before she mindlessly stroked the doll's head again.

Rufus looked down at the doll before speaking up again, "We'll find her… I swear…" he told her.

"But what about the other problems of our company? Aren't you attending to them?" she asked.

"Our daughter is more important than those imbeciles who keep on ruining our reputation. Besides, I'm also asking Heidegger to do some work regarding the person responsible for almost making Reactor 7 explode some days ago." He told her before heading for the window.

Tifa bowed down her head before putting the doll on the chair by the window and she went closer to Rufus, embracing him from behind. She leaned her head against his back as she breathed in his scent. "I'll take care of the search for our daughter. Just take your time with the matters regarding business." She said with a voice that seemed to falter.

He looked up at the orangey skies with a stiff look on his face. "Alright…" he said softly. But he was silently thinking, "I swear… if I ever find out who is doing this, he or she is going to pay dearly with his or her life…" with that, he bowed down his head and touched her hands resting on his stomach. "Let's go back to Midgar. The chopper is ready." He told her.


	8. Chapter Seven

7 

            "Okay, how are we going to know where we're supposed to go? We don't even know where that Doctor is," Sora pointed out.

"I told you his underground lab is located under the cottage by the well. We just have to go back there and wait for him to return there and talk to him." Samara told him.

"_Talk_ to him?" Kairi asked nervously.

"And I mean _talk_." Samara said with a mean smile. The three knew instantly that it would involve blackmail and force. They just kept quiet.

Riku looked around the forest where they had entered some hours ago after leaving Rocket Town. "But where is the cottage?" he asked.

"Thanks to Sora, we're lost again…" Kairi muttered miserably.

"Hey," Sora began.

Riku crossed his arms and leaned back against a big tree trunk. "Man! And the sun's setting already!" he said impatiently.

"Looks like we'll have to camp out." Sora said.

"Again…" Kairi said glumly.

"Can't do anything about it. We're in unfamiliar territory." Sora explained.

"You never get lost in Neverland or whenever you're trying to find your way to the coliseum." Riku pointed out with a silly look on his face.

"Because I'm familiar with those places!" Sora told him defensively.

"Yeah, yeah… whatever…" Riku muttered.

"Oh, c'mon, guys! We were all born in this continent but we weren't raised here. It's understandable, so stop worrying already," Kairi told them with a weak smile on her face.

"We were born in Midgar. This continent doesn't have Midgar in it. It's in the other continent next to this one where we are right now." Riku corrected.

Silence.

"What about you, Samara, where were you born?" Sora asked, turning to Samara who had been awfully quiet ever since they departed from Rocket Town. She just kept quiet and stared blankly at them. Sora smiled weakly at her. "N…never mind…" he said softly before turning back to Riku and Kairi. "So what now?" Riku asked him.

Sora thought for a while before looking up at the already darkening skies. Several bright stars were already visible. He smiled. "We head over there! We will never stop walking… or running… unless we reach another town!" he declared while pointing towards the west.

Silence.

"Okay, that's a stupid idea," he muttered miserably.

"Get real, Sora, it's getting dark!" Riku told him.

"We can cast light orbs so that we can see in the dark." Sora said before leading the way. "We'll sing so that we won't get bored! C'mon, sing with me, guys!" he declared with a cheerful tone before he began to sing, "Following the leader, the leader, the leader, the leader! Following the leader wherever he may go. Ti-dum! Ti-dee!"

"This is so pathetic…" Samara muttered under her breath as she followed after Riku. She was the last one in their line.

Kairi was singing with Sora, but Riku just had this disturbed look on his face.

_Moments later_…

            "Yaaaaargh!!!!!" Sora and Kairi both let out a horrified scream as they ran faster from a pack of hungry wolves and monsters going after them.

"What are you waiting for? Get rid of them!!!" Kairi told him.

"I can't! They're too many!!!" Sora replied.

"C'mon, let's divide ourselves! We can do it!" Kairi convinced.

"Alright, alright!" Sora said nervously before he got his Keyblade, but before he could start a battle with one of the monsters, he saw that the monsters have already died… including the wolves.

He blinked in awe. "H…huh?" he was perplexed.

Kairi was panting heavily as she leaned back against a tree. "What… what happened to them?" she asked.

The whole area was silent; and only the sound of howling wolves and coyotes far away from them could be heard, plus the sound of chirping crickets and owls.

Sora turned to Riku who was just standing in one place, clutching his own weapon, just ready to draw it… but he was frozen in place while staring at the dead creatures under the moonlight. Obviously Riku didn't do it.

Then they all turned to look at Samara. She was just standing still in one place; her hands clenched in tight fists and her blue eyes wide, staring blankly straight ahead. "Samara," Riku began.

She slowly bowed down her head as she took a deep breath and released it in a jagged sigh. The three approached her, "Are you alright?" Sora asked with a worried look on his face.

She just kept quiet.

            "I sense something… strong."

Hojo looked up at his specimen who just spoke up. He pushed up his glasses and eyed his specimen carefully. "How strong is it?" he asked curiously.

His specimen just smiled. "Actually, I won't tell you how strong it is until you let me out of here."

Hojo chuckled lightly but he had a mocking look on his face, "Right." He said sarcastically before turning away and began to check on some files.

The specimen clenched its fists and pounded lightly on the glass surrounding her. "Come on, Professor Hojo. I've done enough damage on property already. Aren't I useful enough for you?" he asked with a challenging look on his face.

Hojo just smiled calmly as he began to read some data. "You cannot even control Mako Energy on your own that's why the reactor almost exploded." He pointed out stiffly.

"I _can_ control it… if it wasn't for your intrusion." The specimen responded rather arrogantly before flipping his hair.

"Are you blaming me?" Hojo demanded angrily at him. He just smiled slyly at the professor. "Who else? Heartless wouldn't do anything stupid; they only follow orders. Only someone like you." he teased.

He clenched his fists before he got up from his seat and approached the glass prison.

He eyed Hojo carefully and raised an eyebrow at him, "Hmf. Someone as pathetic as you are." he corrected.

"Don't use that kind of language and tone on me, Kuja. You are just a puppet." He snapped at him.

Kuja just laughed mockingly at him. "That's so cliché, _granddaddy_." he said arrogantly before letting out a hearty laugh which really insulted Hojo.

"I don't consider you as a grandchild, _bastard_." Hojo told him.

Kuja stopped laughing, "Actually, you use that term to refer to a man. Am I even a man?" he asked with a silly smile on his face, meaning to challenge him.

"Biologically you are a male. Now shut up and just sit still there. I am monitoring your heartbeat." Hojo snapped at him before turning away and muttered angrily, "I could just kill you if I want to…"

"I heard that." Kuja snapped at him.

"Yeah, yeah." He said mindlessly with an annoyed look on his face before he sat down on his computer chair and began to type with the keyboard, entering more data in his computer.

"You know that you cannot keep me here forever, Professor Hojo." Kuja said airily.

"Shut up, Kuja. I'm busy. I can't even understand how you managed to get out of that prison cell." Hojo told him with a warning tone.

Kuja just rolled his eyes and began to whistle a tune. "You are just frustrated because ShinRa finally kicked you out of their company, huh?" he asked after whistling.

Hojo stiffened.

"You want to prove to them that they made a big mistake." Kuja said with a tempting tone.

Hojo just ignored him before he finally got up and eyed him angrily before walking out of the laboratory.

Kuja waited until Hojo was finally able to step outside… even further outside… until he could no longer feel Hojo's presence within the whole area. He smiled secretly before he reached inside a secret pocket of his cape and pulled out a small dagger. He got up and began to levitate himself up to an emergency passageway above the glass prison. He used the dagger to unscrew the small lid from its latches and then pushed it upward, but careful not to let it slip out of his grasp and then break on the floor, which could cause the alarm to sound. Carefully, he levitated out of the glass prison and replaced the lid, returning the screws to their proper places. He levitated down to the ground and flipped his hair while chuckling to himself as he walked to the PC. He got a red marker from the penholder and began to write on the monitor, "Never underestimate any of Sephiroth's children."

With that, he dropped the red marker and skipped out of the laboratory. He quickly got out of the cottage, feeling the cool night air against his face. "Such a beautiful evening…" he said softly before he looked up at the skies. "Time for some blackmail…" he thought with a mean smile on his face.


	9. Chapter Eight

8 

            "I wonder where we are right now…" Kairi said out loud with a tired look on her face.

"I don't think we're in the continent anymore after the long distance that we're able to run some moments ago…" Riku pointed out with a serious look on his face. He still doesn't look tired.

Samara just kept on walking from behind him, slowing down a bit because she was already tired. She was not really used to taking very long walks… and adding everything with the stress and pressure in her life, all she wanted to do was to rest… but for some reason, she cannot.

Sora ducked when a dragonfly-like creature just spawned in front of him and almost attacked him. He immediately got his keyblade and began to fight the creature.

They were in a vast field already and they did not know what place it was too. But from a distance, they could see a small town by the seashore and then a little bit far from it is a dome-like place but higher and bigger and it looks like a giant wedding cake at first glance if you didn't know that it was an edifice.

After Sora was able to beat the creature, he was already panting, "I'm tired… I wanna go home… I miss my bed!" he told them with an exhausted look on his face.

"Stop whining, you lazy bum. Maybe we could head for that big cake thing and ask where we are…" Kairi suggested while observing the big structure.

"Yeah, let's go. Just be careful of those creatures… I think this field has a lot of them." Sora muttered miserably as he led the way.

Samara just stood still, watching as the three went on ahead of her. She bowed down her head, looking at the ground with a solemn look on her face.

Riku stopped walking and turned back to her, "Samara," he called out.

She just stood still as she gazed up at him. He was quiet for a while, observing her; then he smiled kindly as he offered a hand to her.

She slowly made her way to him and finally took his hand. He gently squeezed her hand before motioning for her to walk with him. She just bowed down her head as they proceeded.

They finally arrived at the big dome-like place and they all gazed up at it in awe. "Whoa… what is this place?" Sora asked out loud in awe.

The guard was eyeing them carefully from his booth as they approached. "Hey, what are you folks still doing up late?" the guard asked.

"I'm sorry sir… but…" Kairi began.

"We're in a journey." Sora pointed out.

The guard raised an eyebrow. "I see… well, you seem to be lost." He told them.

Sora smiled weakly. "Actually… we… _are_ lost. We ran into some monsters in the forest and ended up panicking and just ran off without thinking where we're already headed for…" he said.

"Would you like to spend the night here? Some students are on vacation in their own homes that's why several rooms are vacant right now." The guard said with a kind smile on his face.

"Uh… no thank you, sir." Sora said.

"You sure? It's a dangerous night." The guard told them.

Sora scratched his head, "Wh…why?" he asked, remembering the monsters.

"There's been news going around that a major evil villain is on the loose and he's planning to revive two dangerous beings." The guard replied.

The four just kept quiet. "Who's that major evil villain?" Sora asked, but at the back of his mind was a thought, just like what Riku and Kairi are thinking, "I hope it's not Ansem."

The guard shrugged with an unsure look on his face. "I'm not even sure myself. But anyway," he stepped out of the booth and offered a handshake to Sora. "My name is Nida. I'm a SeeD Cadet here. I'm on-duty tonight and this is my post." He introduced with a kind smile on his face.

Sora smiled before shaking Nida's hand. "Nice to meet you, Mister Nida." He said.

"Where are you from anyway?" Nida asked.

"From Midgar." Sora responded.

Silence.

"Midgar?" Nida asked.

"Yep." Sora said.

Nida shook his head. "Never heard of it…" he told them before proceeding back to his booth and began to use the two-way radio. "Nida here. Visitors. Some teens… and one little girl. They're not from here. They need a place to sleep." He said.

A female answered after a few moments, "I'm sending Seifer and Squall there."

Nida went back to the four. "I already informed them about you guys." He said.

Sora nodded. Then, Riku asked, "How come you haven't heard about Midgar?" he asked.

Nida thought for a while before looking strangely at him. "Well… if I'm correct, it's in another dimension." He replied.

Silence.

"Another dimension?" Kairi asked in disbelief.

"Midgar? You don't know where it is?" Riku asked Nida in awe.

"Well… I haven't really heard about it… but one of my colleagues mentioned something about it before and said he's got friends there but it's in another dimension." Nida replied.

"What do you mean?" Sora asked in shock.

"Okay, can you tell me who's the president? Maybe it can refresh my memory. I'm not really good in my Social Studies class…" Nida began.

"President Rufus ShinRa. Only the most powerful and influential man I've ever known." Sora explained.

Silence.

Samara instantly looked at Sora upon the mention of the name "You've met the President?" she asked softly.

Sora turned to her. "Yeah. My dad's friends with him." He replied with a proud look on his face. Before Samara could say something else, they were all interrupted when they heard two voices arguing from a distance, coming to them.

"Jyah! Whatever, you wuss. Just stay out of my business."

"Whatever."

The voice sounded familiar to Sora, Kairi and Riku.

Nida turned around and saw two of his colleagues before turning back to the four, "The blonde guy in the trench coat is Seifer. Don't ask me why he's not in uniform; I don't know the reason too. And the other guy's Squall." He introduced.

"And get a haircut; you look like a girl! Jyahahahahahahahaha!" Seifer insulted before poking Squall's lower back. Squall jerked slightly but did not say anything. He just kept quiet but he was already scowling. Just as they were about to get near the others, he stopped walking upon recognizing the three.

Sora, Kairi and Riku's mouths dropped open in awe upon seeing him. "Leon?!" they all exclaimed.

Silence.

"Leon?" Seifer asked in confusion before looking at Squall.

Nida had a perplexed look on his face. "Who's Leon?" he asked.

"That guy! He's Leon! I know him!" Sora said, pointing at Squall.

Squall smiled calmly at him before walking to him. He stopped and patted Sora's head. "It's _Squall_." He said.

Silence.

"I thought your name is Leon?" Riku asked.

"Squall." Squall corrected.

Silence.

"What is the matter you with you? Do you know these punks?" Seifer demanded from Squall.

"Yes, I know them and they're not punks." Squall replied with a frown on his face before turning back to Sora. "What are you guys doing here?" he asked curiously.

"We… are looking for someone. We're actually helping Samara here." Sora explained, referring to the little girl with long black hair that was holding Riku's hand.

Nida, Squall and Seifer stared inquiringly at the little girl… and they felt goosebumps all over their body. Seifer just nodded with an unsure smile on his face. "I… see…" was all he could say before he lightly punched Squall's shoulder. "Okay, you wuss. Take them inside." He snapped impatiently.

Squall frowned at him before motioning for the four to follow them inside, leaving Nida.

"Where are we taking them? The Headmaster isn't around and Matron isn't here too." Squall asked Seifer.

"To Quistis. She'll know what to do with them." Seifer replied before turning to the four. "Alright, we're taking you to this woman with a scary-looking face. Be aware though, she eats children." He said with a threatening look on his face.

"Mind you, mister, I'm 15. These two here are 14. We're not kids anymore." Riku pointed out with a serious look on his face while referring to himself and then to Sora and Kairi.

"Well you sure lack growth vitamins." Seifer insulted with a silly smile on his face before laughing out loud.

Riku's mouth dropped open in protest but he was not able to say anything. He had to admit, he seems somewhat short for his age… but his mother kept on insisting that when he turns 16, he'll grow taller… probably as tall as his father or taller. In Sora's case, he doesn't really mind. He knows that the highest he could get is 5'7" or a little excess to that (hopefully)… because looking back at his family tree, everyone seems to be no taller than 5'7". Kairi began to feel worried. Her father is tall… but her mother is short. So which height will she inherit?

"Just shut up, Seifer. You know that isn't true. You were also that short when you were 15." Squall told him.

"No, _you_ were the one who's that short when you were 15. I was already 5'9" when I was 15. And besides, you're a year younger than me." Seifer corrected with a mocking look on his face before messing up Squall's hair and then turned back to the four, "Okay, I lied. The woman you're going to meet is charming and sexy and sweet and more beautiful than this gay wuss's girlfriend. And I wasn't insulting you guys, I'm just _playing_ with your minds… and I'm glad that you're not like this wuss over here." He told them while pointing at Squall.

Squall just rolled his eyes, trying to control his temper. "If only you could say those positive adjectives to Quistis when she is around. I really don't like it whenever you are too arrogant around her and you seem to argue every now and then. Just be thankful she's too passive about it." He muttered to him. Seifer just smiled stiffly.

Sora, Riku and Kairi were in awe. "Leon has a girlfriend?!" they all cried out in unison.

"It's SQUALL!" Squall growled as he turned around to face them all of a sudden that they all jerked up in surprise.

"What's with the _Leon_ name anyway? It sounds gay! Don't tell me, when you were away, you joined a strip club and had that name? Wahahahahahahaha!" Seifer snapped at him.

"For the last time, Seifer, I'm not gay. I'm British." Squall muttered.

"Hey, I heard my mommy say that one time!" Riku chimed in.

Silence.

"What?" Samara asked in confusion, turning to Riku. He just smiled weakly at her.

"So that's your real accent! You spoke rather differently before when we were all together!" Sora pointed out with a smile on his face. Squall just kept a straight face.

They all went to the second floor using the elevator and proceeded to one of the classrooms. "Gee… it's past midnight and you guys are still awake?" Sora asked in confusion.

"Unfortunately, this is our job. And this place is a school. A Garden." Squall explained.

"A Garden?" Kairi asked. "What do you do here?" Sora asked.

"We teach gardening." Seifer answered with a silly smile on his face. Samara knows that he's joking because of the look in his face, but she just chuckled lightly and answered Sora's question, "It's like military school. They teach their students to become SeeD cadets. SeeD was the idea of Edea Kramer."

Seifer and Squall were in awe. "Ho…how did she know all that?" the former asked. "I was just about to explain the idea… that's exactly what I wanted to tell them…" Squall was thinking silently to himself, not really knowing how to react further.

"Cool." Sora said with an amazed look on his face.

Samara just looked up at Seifer with a slight smile on her face. Looking at him somewhat made her feel comfortable… because he reminded her of someone very important to her. But she just kept quiet. Seifer was wondering why the little girl was staring at him like that. Confused, he just turned towards the Instructor's desk, but there was no one there. "Okay… where did she go?" he muttered.

Squall turned to the same direction and he frowned.

They all turned to the automatic door when they heard it open. A tall blonde woman entered wearing the uniform for a female SeeD cadet and she was talking to someone through a cordless phone. "No, I haven't received any of that kind of information yet… well alright. Kindly fax or email it to Seifer… Alright. When did it happen?" She stopped in her tracks when she saw everyone looking at her. She smiled at the new faces and then turned to Seifer and to Squall as she mouthed, "It's Zell."

Squall nodded. Seifer just frowned and approached her, grabbed the phone and talked to the person on the other line, "Hey, Chicken Wuss. Whazzup?" he greeted.

Squall turned to the four and referred to the tall woman, "Sora, Riku, Samara, Kairi, this is Quistis." He introduced.

"Pleased to meet you guys," she said with a pleased smile on her face as she offered a handshake to each of them. The three young adults eagerly shook hands with her, but the little girl did not. She just stared up at her. Quistis smiled sweetly at her and knelt down before her. "Hello there, sweetie." She said cheerfully.

Samara smiled rather shyly at her. To everyone's surprise, she embraced her. Quistis was stunned that a little girl just embraced her. Samara let go of her and then stepped away. Quistis slowly got up again when Seifer finally ended the phone conversation and placed the phone on top of the Instructor's desk. "Chicken Wuss said that there had been some disturbances in Galbadia and in Esthar… _especially_ in Esthar." He told them.

"What kind of disturbances?" Squall asked.

"Weird things happening… like people transforming into monsters whenever they would come near this big light-thing orb whatsoever that thing is. Zell said that there are orbs like that at the center of each of the two cities." Seifer explained.

"People transforming into monsters?" Sora asked curiously.

"That's odd… is magic involved?" Quistis asked.

"I don't think so." Seifer replied with a hard look on his face. She sighed heavily. "Zell told me that the light orbs appeared at exactly 22:00. Both cities." She explained.

"Why? Is he in two cities at the same time?" he asked.

"No. Selphie and Rinoa are in Galbadia. He's in Esthar. Selphie and Rinoa cannot contact us here because the people-transformed-into-monsters have destroyed several of the telephone lines and since the signal there is bad and cannot reach far places like Balamb, they just sent an email to Zell about it." She explained.

Silence.

"Quistis, I think we should send them to bed now." Squall pointed out.

Quistis remembered about Sora, Riku, Kairi and Samara and smiled sheepishly at them. "Oh… sorry… it's just that we're too busy and frantic already. Seifer, take them to the empty quarters in the dormitory." She said.

"Why me?" Seifer asked with a fake smile on his face.

"Okay I'll go with you." She muttered before turning to Squall. "Do your job here. We'll be back." She told him.

"Yeah, yeah. Just don't take too long or else I might think that you two are up to something again." Squall said with a serious look on his face, but his eyes revealed to them that he's teasing them.

Seifer showed him an angry fist before he finally followed after Quistis and the others out of the classroom.

            Hojo has a small apartment he is renting in Rocket Town. If he is not in his private laboratory, he would just stay in his apartment and do some research and study. Lately, he is after the _children_.

"Hmf… how long must it take for me to find out who they are and how many are they?" he was thinking silently as he took a sip of coffee from an unwashed mug. The upkeep of his apartment isn't really good… it still looks like a mad scientist's corner.

It was already past midnight but he is still working; hacking through databases and writing all the results and interesting facts he could find on a yellow pad paper.

Finally, he was able to find Aerith Gainsborough's info. He smiled wickedly when he saw the heading _see Aerith Strife_. He clicked on the link and it led him to the latest data about the Cetra.

His eyes widened when he saw the name of her one and only son: Sora Gainsborough Strife.

He laughed victoriously before writing down the name. He also viewed the picture and printed it out so that he would know how the boy looks like…

And he did the same to Sephiroth's children…

"Hmm… He has five… four boys and one girl…" he thought silently. He hasn't been keeping in touch with Sephiroth for a lot of years already because the guy hated him… just as Lucrecia hates him too. "How come everybody hates me? I'm the one who can redeem them from their suffering!" he thought with an angry look on his face before he froze upon recognizing the youngest child. "Okay… one down… four to go… the first one was easy…" he thought with a mean smile on his face while looking at Riku's picture. He could recall just hitting him with a shovel and knocking him unconscious and then throwing him down the well by the cottage. He had wicked look in his eye. "You can die inside that well for all I care. You wouldn't be lonely too. The brat is with you." He said before he began to print the pictures of the four other children. When he got the fourth picture, he easily recognized it. He crumpled it and threw it in the trash. "What's the use? He's just in the lab. I can get rid of him if I want to." He was thinking before he got up and began to post the rest of the pictures on his wall. "Tomorrow, Kuja is dead." He said to himself before he finally switched off his PC and then went straight to bed.

            Seifer was the one who escorted Riku and Sora to their rooms, while Quistis took care of the girls. After taking Kairi to a room and said goodnight, she proceeded with Samara to the other room next to Riku's. "This is Selphie's room." Quistis told her as she switched on the lamp light. Samara stepped inside and looked around the place. The room had some stuffed toys, fluffy pink and yellow pillows and more girly stuff that could make the exaggerated squeamish throw up. But the atmosphere of the room seemed to make Samara feel… a little at home. It reminded her of one of the rooms in her old home… She smiled sadly before proceeding to the bed. Quistis helped her climb up the bed and then helped her lie down too. After putting a blanket over her, Quistis stroked the little girl's long black hair and tucked it away from her face.

Samara sat up and embraced her again. Quistis thought she saw tears in the girl's eyes. "What's wrong?" she asked gently as she faced the girl.

Samara just stared at her with a sad smile on her face. "You remind me of my mommy." She said.

Quistis raised an eyebrow. "I look like her?" she asked in awe.

Samara shook her head. "You act like her." She replied.

Quistis just smiled, but before she could say anything else, Seifer barged inside the room. "Hurry up, Squall's having some trouble upstairs with the technical stuff." He told her. "Yeah, yeah. Just saying goodnight to her." She responded before she gave the girl a kiss on the forehead. "Goodnight," she said sweetly as she got up. Seifer turned to the girl and patted her head. "Where are you from again?" he asked.

She just looked up at him quietly before answering with a low tone, "Midgar."

Seifer thought for a while before remembering something. "Oh yeah… I have a friend there. And guess what, you remind me of him. Quiet… and smart." He explained.

She just bowed down her head.

"You even have the same eyes… but. I'm not sure if I want to ask if you're related to him because I don't even know if he has kids." Seifer told her.

"You know where Midgar is?" Quistis asked.

"Yeah. But it's too far from here… like you'll think that you're already in another planet when you visit it… or how the suspicious would put it, _in another dimension_. To get there, you have to go the end of this continent within the forest and roam around for a while… and you'll find that you're already in the borderline of this continent and the Northern Continent." He explained.

Samara just smiled slightly as she looked up at him again. He frowned slightly. "Why are you looking at me like that?" he asked curiously as he bent down so that he could face her properly.

She just reached out to him and hugged him, surprising him. Softly, she whispered, "You look like my daddy."

Seifer's eyes widened upon hearing that. He slowly withdrew from the little girl and stared into her eyes, but she immediately bowed down her head and let her hair cover her face. Confused, he just stood up straight again and went to Quistis. "Let's go." He said softly before leading the way outside.

As soon as the door closed, Samara just sat still on the bed, staring into empty space. After a few moments, she just began to sing sadly with a tone that seemed to falter:

_There's a summer place_

_Where it may rain or storm     _

_Yet I'm safe and warm         _

_For within that summer place               _

_Your arms reach out to me                     _

_And my heart is free from all care …_

_For it knows                                 _

_There are no gloomy skies                                   _

_When seen through the eyes                                     _

_Of those who are blessed with love…_

            "There is just something creepy about that kid…" Nida told Quistis as he joined her and the other high-ranking SeeDs inside the library to discuss something about the situation.

"She just doesn't like to show her face to people. Other than that, I don't find anything scary about her. I think she's pretty too." Quistis explained with a slight smile on her face before she brought out a piece of paper from a folder. She was already sleepy but she still tried her best to be awake as she handed the paper to Squall.

"What's that?" Xu asked Quistis.

"Zell faxed it. A report about the trouble from Galbadia and Esthar." She replied.

Squall slowly got up, reading it silently before he put it down and spoke up with a hard tone, "Kuja,"


	10. Chapter Nine

9 

            Sora was thinking quietly about the people transforming into monsters. He once read something about it from an old science book discussing things about planetary fuel and energy. "From what I can remember, if a person is exposed to that kind of energy and he cannot take it, he mutates into a monster-like creature…" he thought silently. He turned to the desk clock and saw that it was already 3 in the morning. Sighing heavily, he closed his eyes, ready to drift off to sleep.

Silence filled the whole room…

Until he felt something invisible pierce through his brain… coming from a very high-pitched sound that made him open his eyes and clutched his head in pain. "Ow… what's that?" he said out loud.

The sound faded away.

He calmed down a little, but he was sweating. "Gee… that really hurt…" he thought silently as he slowly sat up and scratched his head. The pain was gone too. "I wonder what happened…" he thought. He sighed heavily before he switched on the lamplight and gazed around the room. He saw a telephone. Pleased and excited, he got out of bed and rushed to the telephone on the study desk. He placed the receiver against his ear and dialed some numbers, but after dialing, a computerized voice spoke up, "Sorry. That number is not found in this area. If you have the area code, please dial it before the number of your destination. Thank you." And the dial tone returned.

He replaced the receiver and began to think of the area code for Midgar but could not remember. "Geez… this is what I get for not being raised there… Oh well… better just check out the operator again." He thought before he got the receiver again and dialed the operator's number. After a few moments, the operator answered, "Balamb Telecommunications Company here. How may I help you?"

"Uhm… hello. I'd like to ask for the area code of Midgar." Sora began.

Silence.

"Which sector?" the operator asked.

He smiled excitedly, "Sector 2, please." He replied.

The operator was silent for a while before answering, "002. But before you dial that area code plus the landline number, you have to press asterisk twice, alright?"

Sora nodded. "Okay, thank you… uhm… wait, ma'am?" he asked.

"Yes, sir?" the operator responded.

"I'd like to know if the timezone of this place is different from Midgar. You see… I think it's in a different continent and area…" Sora began.

"It's already 8 am in that place. The timezones are different." The operator explained.

Sora was happy. "Okay… thank you." He said. "And that Nida guy told me that he hasn't heard of Midgar before…" he thought silently.

"Alright." The operator said before hanging up.

Sora waited for the dial tone again before dialing.

After a few rings, a sleepy voice answered. "Strife Residence, good morning."

Sora gasped happily and greeted, "Daddy!"

Silence.

"Sora?" Cloud responded.

Sora smiled happily. "Yes, dad!" he said.

"Where are you?" Cloud asked, suddenly sounding awake.

"In Balamb." Sora replied.

Silence.

"Balamb?" Cloud repeated with an unsure tone.

"The place where Squall's from." Sora replied.

Silence.

"Leon." Sora specified.

"Oh yeah… now I remember. But… what are you doing there? Did you find the box already?" Cloud asked.

"No but the contents of the box is with Riku's friend. But don't worry dad, it's in good hands. But anyway… I have a question." Sora began.

"What is it?" Cloud asked.

"What's with the eeeek eeeek sound that I'm hearing?" Sora asked.

Cloud was silent for a while before saying, "What kind of eeek eek sound?" he asked.

"Some… high pitched noise? It's like feedback from a microphone when placed near the karaoke."  Sora explained.

            Cloud's eyes widened upon hearing that. "You… can hear those sounds?" he asked.

"Yes, dad… and then my head began to ache. But it's gone now. It's the first time I was able to hear that kind of sound." Sora explained.

Cloud turned to Aerith who was still asleep on their bed before speaking up again, "Sora, come home now." Was all he said.

            Sora blinked. "Dad, it's like, 3 in the morning here," he began.

"Just come back here. And hurry with Riku and that box. It's very important." Cloud told him.

Sora nodded. "Oh… okay, dad… but… what's that sound anyway?" he asked.

"I'll explain to you once you get home. And be careful where you pass by. Heard there's trouble all over us again." Cloud pointed out.

Sora's eyes widened. "Trouble?" he asked.

"Ever heard of Mako?" Cloud asked.

Sora was silent for a while before lightening up, "Oh yeah! I've heard about it! You said that you were exposed to it, right?" he asked with a smile on his face.

"Just a warning. If you see this very bright light, don't come near it no matter what happens." Cloud told him.

Sora sat down on a chair, "What? Why?" he asked.

"It… looks nice… like it came from goodness. That light might give you an idea that it can give you warmth and freedom and happiness… but it is not what you might think it is. That light is dangerous, you hear?"

"How dangerous is it?" Sora asked.

"It can kill." Cloud told him.

Sora fell silent.

"I'll see you soon." Cloud said before hanging up.

"Dad, wait—…" Sora said, but was cut off when he heard the dial tone. Sighing heavily, he replaced the receiver on the phone and went back to the bed. Just as he was about to fall asleep, the last thought that came into his consciousness was, "Darn it! I forgot to ask dad the directions back home!"

            Sephiroth looked up from the newspaper that he was reading when he heard the doorbell ringing. "Somebody, get that!" he snapped impatiently.

Silence.

Sephiroth turned to the girl with short dark brown hair seated next to him. "I said, _somebody_, get that." He whispered with a warning tone.

She just stared blankly at him before getting up, leaving her food on the table. When Sephiroth saw that she was wearing short shorts with her loose white t-shirt, his mouth dropped open, "What are you wearing?!" he demanded.

"I'm wearing _shorts_, dad." She replied glumly.

"Change into pants!" Sephiroth told her.

"What for?" she asked in annoyance.

The doorbell sounded again.

"I'll do it later," she told him before rushing out of the dining area.

"Jill!" Sephiroth called out at her but she ignored him. He turned to one of the other people present in the same room when he heard some snickering. It was coming from his eldest son. "Do you mind telling me what's so funny, Dante?" he asked.

Dante just flipped his silver hair and smiled at his father. "I'm… just laughing at myself. I remembered something funny." He said.

The one seated beside him just rolled his eyes. "Yeah right. You're laughing at Jill…" he muttered.

"Shut up, Skurai," Dante muttered back.

Sephiroth eyed them carefully before proceeding to read the newspaper again.

            Jill opened the door and stared strangely at the weird-looking man. "What a funny-looking man," she thought silently, reminding her of the zombies she used to battle. "Yeah, what do you want?" she asked.

The man was wearing a white lab coat… but it looked… dirty. "Hahahahaha. Pleasant morning, pretty lady," was his answer.

_Well, he's not exactly charming… or decent-looking, for that matter. _"Uh… do you want me to give you some alms or anything? All I have is toast…"

"Oh, no, no, no! I…" he began, but was cut off by her, "…Look, man, my dad doesn't like beggars, so if you want money or anything, go to ShinRa. It's in Sector 1. Talk to the Head of Urban Development and tell him what you want, alright? Have a nice day." She said before closing the door with a grumpy look on her face. She headed back to the dining room.

"Who was that?" Sephiroth asked.

"Some disgusting-looking beggar." She said before she sat down.

Dante snickered at her, "Gee… why do you always tend to attract _beggars_? Are you that… cheap?" he teased.

Skurai stifled his laughter while saying, "You mean Carlos is a beggar?" he asked.

Sephiroth pounded on the table, surprising the three. "Alright, I won't have that name mentioned around here you hear?" he demanded.

Jill just rolled her eyes.

"Yes daddy." Dante said with a fakey-obedient tone before turning to sneer at his sister. Jill made a face at him.

The doorbell sounded again.

"Get it, Jill." Sephiroth instructed.

She stomped her foot as she got up and dragged Dante with her. "You're coming with me! If it's another beggar, you talk to him!" she snapped at him.

"Hey, I can get rid of the guys courting you while they're serenading, but not at any other time you know," Dante said with a grin.

Jill ignored his remark and opened the door with her free hand. Sure enough, it was the same, dirty-coated guy again. "Hello again, ma'am. And he is your…?" the man greeted.

"My older brother. Nothing more, nothing less." Jill said.

The man smiled slyly at them while thinking, "Hmm… such beautiful children. And this guy even has his father's physique. And this girl is simply lovely. I wonder who their mother is…"

"So, old dude, I hear you're bugging my little sister," Dante said, switching to his bully mode.

The man forced a smile at him. "Ah, I am sorry, I did not realize that I was troubling you both. I am simply…" he trailed off when Dante pulled out his Ebony and Ivory, pointing the two against the man's forehead.

Jill was already holding a handgun, twirling it in her hand.

"Look old man, we don't like the way you smell and the way you look at us, so just scram." Dante warned.

The man was supposed to say something else but he trailed off when he heard Sephiroth shouting from inside, "Hey! Who's that?!"

The man just ran away, leaving Dante and Jill perplexed.

"That's why nobody comes here for trick or treat or even caroling." Jill muttered.

"What do you expect, 3 gunners, 2 swordsmen, a gay guy and some kid who's obsessed with exotic fruits live here," Dante answered before he realized something. "Speaking of the gay guy and the kid who loves exotic fruits… where are they?" he asked.

Jill froze. "You're right… Kuja's been gone for days… but… Riku's missing and so his friends are looking for him." She said as she closed the door.

"You think dad even noticed that Kuja's gone?" Dante asked curiously.

"I doubt it. Why don't we check anyway?" Jill told him as they entered the dining area again. She sat down and asked, "Hey, dad, wanna eat out for lunch?" she asked cheerfully.

"What for?" Sephiroth asked mindlessly while flipping through the pages of the sports section.

"Oh you know, just a get-together for the whole family." She said.

Sephiroth nodded mindlessly, "Ask for the opinion of your brothers. Dante?" he asked.

"It's alright, dad. Can I take Trish with us?" Dante asked with a sweet tone.

"Yeah, whatever. Skurai?" Sephiroth asked.

"Ahahahahaha! Can I take Sara with me?" Skurai asked.

"No. Riku? Oh wait, Riku's not here… alright, we won't eat out since Riku's not here." Sephiroth finally decided.

Silence.

Skurai, Dante and Jill exchanged confused glances. "Dad," she began.

"Where's your mother, can you tell her to come here. I need to discuss something with her." Sephiroth responded.

The three just kept quiet, not knowing how to bring up the subject. Jill slowly got up and rushed to the kitchen, "Mom," she called out.

            "Grr… blasted Sephiroth… how can I get his children if he's in the way?" Hojo was thinking angrily as he walked the streets of Sector 1 heading for the park. "And his kids can really kick some ass…" he muttered miserably. He stopped when he passed by a newspaper stand and saw one the headlines of Midgar Times: _Enemy on the Loose_.

He frowned slightly before he decided to buy a copy before heading for the park's parking lot. He got inside his car and began to read the description of the enemy… his eyes widened in surprise.

"DAMMIT! Don't tell me Kuja is loose?!" he cried out loud.

            Dante was reading the front page of Midgar Times and he had a confused look on his face before turning to his father, "Dad, I think there's… something wrong…" he said.

"What?" Sephiroth put down the sports section and grabbed the newspaper from Dante's grasp. He began to read the headlines and the story. He clenched his teeth as he smiled impatiently. "Damn…" was all he could say.

Jill turned to Dante, "What's in there?" she whispered. He just kept quiet.

Sephiroth put down the newspaper and just stared into empty space while proceeding to eat his breakfast.

"What are you going to do, dad?" Dante asked.

Sephiroth was quiet for a while, chewing his food carefully and then swallowed. "I'm just going to wait for Rufus's call." he told them.

Silence.

Before Skurai could react, the phone began to ring, surprising all of them.

Dante, Skurai and Jill exchanged glances before Sephiroth told them, "I guess that's for me." He got up and went to the phone by the hallway leading to the stairs.

            Tifa was patting Dark Nation's head while gazing at Rufus who was just seated on his office chair while staring at the speakerphone.

Finally, the person from the other line answered, "Yes, Sephiroth here."

Rufus closed his eyes for a while and then opened them again, "This is Rufus." He said.

"Hey, Rufus. You called?" Sephiroth responded.

Rufus was silent for a few moments before saying, "I'm sure you've seen the headlines?"

"Yes. Just moments ago. Who verified those facts?" Sephiroth asked.

"Heidegger… don't you think it fits every single detail regarding Kuja?" Rufus asked.

Sephiroth was silent for a while before saying, "I have nothing to do with this,"

"Right. But the name is not yet mentioned. Don't want the people panicking." Rufus explained.

"Good. So, what are you planning to do about it?" Sephiroth asked.

"Other reporters say that it already started in several places far away from here… but I'm not sure where. While the attacks are not yet here in Midgar, I would like to increase the security of the whole place and the other cities and provinces owned by my company. For now, since I left you in charge of First Class Soldier, I want you to drill them. I'll be going to Junon today for an inspection. Tifa is just here in HQ in case you have any questions." Rufus instructed.

"Inspection?" Sephiroth asked curiously.

Rufus was silent for a while before admitting, "It's… my daughter. She's been missing for more than a year now…"

"Morrigan? But I thought she's just in Junon… or is it Lavinia? I just saw her yesterday…" Sephiroth said in awe.

"No… never mind. Just do your job." Rufus said before hanging up. He sighed heavily before turning to Tifa who was just staring curiously at him. "I'm leaving." He told her.

She just nodded with a calm smile on her face. She knew he hasn't changed so much… he still could not admit what he really feels. He was really worried about their daughter's disappearance but he doesn't want to show it and he doesn't want to be bothered about it so he just drowns himself in work. But at that day, he would like to go to Junon to do some investigation and inspection in the area… to see if there are any suspicious activities regarding rebellion against his company. "Don't let it worry you too much, Rufus. I know we'll find her… and she can defend herself, I know it." She told him.

He smiled stiffly at her as he got up from his chair. "I feel she's in good hands… hopefully…" he told her.

Tifa turned to look at Dark Nation. The big cat just purred and nuzzled its head against Tifa's leg. "Meowrrr…"

"We'll find her…" Tifa told him with a resolved look on her face.

            Tifa waited until the chopper finally took off, heading for Junon. As soon as the chopper was out of her sight already, she rushed back inside the ShinRa Building and proceeded to the masters' bedroom to change her clothes.

After she was dressed, she stepped out of the room, putting on her fighting gloves. She was on her way to the elevator but she stopped when she saw a little girl with blonde hair and crimson eyes looking up at her from one of the posts. She smiled sweetly at the girl and welcomed her with open arms. "Lavinia, dear…" she said.

The little girl immediately went to her and embraced her tightly, "Mommy why are you dressed that way?"

Tifa smiled gently as she looked into the girl's eyes. "I'm going off for a while to look for Samzy." She said gently but playfully.

"But who will go with you?" Lavinia asked curiously.

"Auntie Aerith and Auntie Yuffie will go with me, don't worry."

"But what about… the danger ahead of you?"

Tifa fell silent. Her youngest daughter obviously read the papers and she must've seen the news on TV too. She just smiled. "We saved the Planet once; why not do it again?" she asked with a wink.

            Sora had awoken to the sound of something exploding… and some tremors. He instantly jumped out of bed and rushed to the window. He realized that they were moving… "What's… going on?!" he cried out in shock.

The automatic door suddenly opened and Kairi rushed in. "Sora!" she said with a worried look on her face.

"Kairi, what's going on?" he asked.

Kairi looked outside too. "I don't know… but this place is moving… flying, actually…" she said.

They gazed up at the skies and saw a lot of meteor-like rocks crashing down. "Oh my GAWD!!!" Kairi cried out in shock.

The meteorites hit a few parts of the Garden but it still continued to move faster.

They heard footsteps approaching and they both turned to the door. It was a blonde guy with a weird henna tattoo on the left side of his face. "Zoiks! There ya're! C'mon, let's go upstairs!" he told them with a pleased look on his face.

Without further questions, Kairi and Sora immediately got to their feet and followed after the blonde guy with the tattoo.

"What's going on, mister?" Kairi asked with a worried look on her face.

"Enemies. We're under attack. Squall told me to get you guys and take you upstairs. You'll be safer with us there." The man told them before stopping by the elevator. "Oops… in case of emergency, use the stairs," he reminded himself before going to another area; the two still following him. "Is it alright if we take the stairs?" he asked.

"Yeah, sure… but… who's attacking us?" Sora asked curiously as they continued to run.

They all stopped when two Heartless appeared before them.

"Holy cow!!!" the man exclaimed.

"Oh man!? What are they doing here?!" Sora exclaimed before grabbing his Keyblade. He instantly attacked one of those while the blonde guy attacked the other one, punching it to death.

After beating the two, the blonde guy wiped his own sweat off his forehead. "Whew! If I ever see one of those again, I'll retire!" he snapped impatiently while panting. "By the way, my name is Zell. Cool weapon, kid," he added while eyeing the Keyblade.

Sora just forced a smile despite his confusion regarding the situation, "My name is Sora. This is Kairi." He said.

"Yeah. Squall told me all about you guys. Anyway, let's hurry up. We're flying the Garden someplace else." Zell replied before proceeding to run but motioning the two to follow him.

While running upstairs, Sora asked, "This place could fly?!"

"Yep." Zell replied.

Finally, they reached the Headmaster's Office. "Everyone's in the cockpit. Just go up there." Zell told them.

"What about you?" Sora asked.

"I'll stay here. Hey, Selphie!" Zell turned to the girl who was seated on the Headmaster's desk while talking through a headset's speaker connected to a two-way radio.

Thinking that the name sounded familiar, Sora and Kairi immediately turned to the brown-haired girl wearing the same uniform that Quistis was wearing.

Selphie smiled sweetly at them. "Hi there!" she greeted before proceeding to talk to the person on the other line, "You sure it's fine? Alright we're heading there! Which field? Oh yeah, we can float on water. Okay." She hang up and ran to the two. "Sora! Kairi!" she greeted happily.

The two were stunned when she embraced them tightly. She looked… very different.

"Oh so you know them too?" Zell asked.

"Of course I do! Heehee!" Selphie replied cheerfully before leading the way to the cockpit.

"Hey, where's Riku?" Sora asked, stopping in his tracks.

"And Samara!" Kairi remembered with a worried look on her face.

Silence.

"I'm getting them just now. I couldn't find them earlier so I just got the two of you first." Zell admitted.

"What?!" Sora and Kairi both exclaimed in unison before Zell finally ran off. Frowning, Sora ran after him.

"Sora!" Selphie and Kairi called out, running after him.

"I'm coming with you!" Sora told Zell.

"Hey! This is dangerous!" Zell told him.

"I know! That's why I'm coming along!" Sora replied with a proud look on his face.

"I see… trained to face danger, huh?" Selphie asked, joining the boys with Kairi.

"Just starting to get used to it." He said with a wink.

            Samara was walking alone inside the Training Center (of all the places), gazing up at the big plants. She could sense strong beings inside, but she was not sure what they are…

She could feel the ground shaking a little whenever she could hear explosions. She knew that it was caused by those meteorites hitting the Garden. But she did not mind.

She looked straight ahead when she saw a T-Rexaur heading her way. Her eyes widened upon seeing it, but she instantly turned around when she heard a familiar voice calling her name, "Samara! Look out!!!"

She stared unbelievably at Riku, wondering why he was so frantic. Then, she saw the T-Rexaur's shadow looming over her.

Riku stopped in his tracks, but before he could decide to attack the big creature, it stopped behind her and stooped down, making a soft whimpering noise. It gently nuzzled its face against Samara's side.

She slightly jerked in surprise before turning back to the T-Rexaur with a pleased smile on her face. She chuckled lightly as she embraced its jaw.

Riku's mouth dropped open upon what he was seeing. "What the hell?!" he thought in awe.

She continued to pet the T-Rexaur, but she stopped when it just opened its mouth, growling in pain. Some of its blood splattered against Samara's face and on her white dress. She instantly let go of the T-Rexaur with a look of awe on her face as she took a few steps backward away from it and watched it fall down to the ground, dead.

Riku slowly approached her. She shook her head with a look of confusion in her eyes, "I… I didn't do it…" she said softly. Riku was about to ask if she's okay, but he froze when he heard some familiar chuckling from somewhere. "So very interesting…" the voice added. Riku's eyes widened as he looked up at the T-Rexaur's corpse and standing on top of it is a silver-haired being with a cape. Samara slowly looked up at the person and frowned angrily at him/her, she could not determine.

Riku instantly pushed Samara behind himself as he continued to stare inquiringly at the person smiling slyly at them.

"Ah… such power coming from her. I haven't seen anything like it before. Such strength; so powerful that it can even tame the wildest of all creatures." The person said before descending from the T-Rexaur's corpse, his feet landing gracefully on the ground before he flipped his own hair. He carefully gazed at Samara from head to toe before returning his gaze to her eyes that were gazing curiously at him. "Just what I need for controlling the energy from the Planet." He declared.

She gasped slightly upon hearing that.

Riku sneered at him, "What are you doing here, Kuja?"

Kuja just smiled sweetly at him, "Aww… is that the way to greet an older sibling, brother dear?" he asked.

Samara's eyes widened upon hearing that. She began to feel paranoid: what if Kuja is just using Riku so that he could get her? She slowly stepped away from Riku, eyeing him suspiciously.

Riku noticed her departure from him, so he turned around to look at her, "Samara, where are you going?" he asked.

She just stared at him with a disgusted look on her face before she completely turned away from him and ran away.

His eyes widened and his mouth dropped open, "Samara!" he called out as he moved to go after her, but he stopped when Kuja reappeared before him, blocking his way. He clenched his fists as he sneered at his older brother, "Get out of my way, I'm warning you!" he snapped.

Kuja just smiled at him. "Oh, so that's her name. It's so beautiful… _Samara…_ I wonder what her surname is?" he asked with a look of wonder on his face.

"Get out of my way or I'll…" Riku began, but Kuja cut him off, "And what will you do?" he asked challengingly.

Riku just narrowed his eyes on him, "What are you planning to do?" he asked softly.

"Nothing that would interest you." Kuja answered simply before snapping his fingers. Ten Heartless appeared all around them. Riku's frown deepened.

"Tsk. Tsk. Tsk. No one to save you now, brother dear. And what are you going to do? Tell daddy about it? Go ahead. _I don't care_." Kuja sneered at him before laughing out loud and then levitated off the ground and disappeared.

"KUJA!!! Come back here!!!" Riku shouted in annoyance as the Heartless began to attack him…

            Samara stopped in her tracks when she reached the lobby when she saw a lot of Heartless all over the whole area, fighting with SeeDs.

Frowning, she continued her way going to the exit. "I'm getting out of here! I can't trust anyone anymore!!!" she was thinking with a bitter look on her face. She wanted to cry but she was stopping herself. She knows that the Garden is floating on the air, but she did not care. She will just jump off… and maybe kill herself in the process.

The thought of death made her feel so numb. When she finally reached the edge, she just stood still for a moment, looking down at the forest and the seas below the flying Garden. The wind was so strong against her, but she did not mind. She was about to jump off but Kuja appeared before her and grabbed her shoulders. She gasped. He smiled wickedly at her, "Hello little girl. You're coming with me!" he told her.

She screeched at his face, stunning him and then kicked him where the sun doesn't shine. "OW!!!!! Of all the places, why _there_?!?!?" Kuja cried out in pain as he crouched slightly, letting go of her. Samara ran away from him, going to the other side, but she stopped when she saw Riku coming her way. Two Heartless were still after him, but he still ran to her. "Samara!" he called out.

Her eyes widened upon seeing him. She turned away from him but froze when she realized that she was surrounded. Kuja. More Heartless. Riku. She clenched her fists but she did not say anything. She just stood in one place, eyeing each of them one by one.

And then came Zell, Selphie, Sora and Kairi.

"What's going on?!" Sora exclaimed in confusion, especially when he saw Kuja.

Samara was already having a hard time breathing and her blue eyes were horror-stricken as she slowly clutched her head with trembling hands.

"Samara!" Riku was already coming closer to her, but she let out a shrill scream. He froze in his tracks when he felt excruciating pain in his chest. He slowly fell to the ground, crouching down in pain. "O…ow… Samara… what are you doing?!" he demanded.

The Heartless began to disappear one by one. Kuja was in awe upon such display of power… until he also felt pain in his chest.

Sora, Kairi, Zell and Selphie felt it too… and soon, they were all crouched on the ground, trying to fight the pain. "N…no… this is… not good…" Sora tried to say.

Samara stopped screaming and she instantly rushed to the edge and immediately jumped off.

Their eyes widened in shock. "NOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!" Riku cried out as he immediately got up, trying not to mind the pain as he rushed to her, jumping off too.

"Riku!!!" Sora and Kairi shouted.

Kuja slowly got up, panting heavily. "Foolish… ugh…" he went to the edge and peered down. He could not see anyone. He fell onto his knees. "They're alive…" he thought silently before he teleported himself away from that place.

Selphie collapsed to the ground, unable to take it anymore.

"Hey! Hang on!" Sora said, shaking her frantically. But she could not breathe well.

Kairi struggled to get up, but she couldn't; so she just crawled going to the edge, looking down. She could not see any trace of Riku or Samara anymore. She sniffed as tears fell from her eyes. She suddenly felt so afraid. "No… please… tell me they're alright…" she was thinking silently.


	11. Chapter Ten

10 

            The sound of shattering glass made everyone look at Sephiroth. He accidentally dropped his glass of water on the floor. It was his lunch break in ShinRa and he was in the cafeteria of the building.

Frowning, he just stared at the shattered glass on the wet floor before him. His heart was racing all of a sudden but he couldn't think well. Confused, he just decided to get a new glass of water. "I wonder what made me drop that…" he was thinking silently.

            As Sephiroth dropped the glass on the floor, another incident happened regarding Rufus, this time in Junon. He was writing some numbers on a scratch paper with a mechanical pencil when the lead just broke off, surprising him. He frowned while thinking to himself, "I must be so stressed I'm pressing it too hard against the paper…"

            Tifa looked up at the skies when she felt that the wind suddenly turned chilly. She shivered as she felt her heart sink for a moment.

"Anything wrong?" Yuffie asked her.

Tifa just smiled weakly as she shook her head. "I… guess I got so used to wearing three-layered clothes in ShinRa that I'm not used to wearing my old clothes anymore." She said with a silly smile on her face.

"If your husband sees you wearing that, he might freak out. The First Lady of ShinRa is scantily-clad and…"

"Har har har! Very funny, Aerith!" Tifa snapped with a sarcastic smile on her face before she playfully slapped her friend's back.

Aerith giggled before examining her reflection on the glass window. "Hmm… I think my butt increased in size when I gave birth to Sora 14 years ago…" she muttered with a miserable look on her face. "This pink dress feels so tight around the hip area already!" she remarked.

"Heeheeheehee! At least I'm proud to say that I still weigh the same from before!" Yuffie cheered happily.

"Good. Make us feel jealous," Tifa muttered before checking the map.

Aerith and Yuffie looked over her shoulder. "Since when did you learn how to navigate yachts?" the latter asked.

"Oh believe me, you learn a lot of things when you're a ShinRa." Tifa explained with a wink.

The two just stared strangely at her. She giggled. "Okay, so I just watch Rufus whenever he's driving this thing." She pointed out.

"You mean this is his yacht?" Aerith asked.

"Obviously. The name of this yacht is _The President_. But I was the one who had it made for him for his birthday last year so I have every right to use it for my own purpose." Tifa explained.

"Does he even know what we're doing right now?" Yuffie asked with a suspicious look on her face.

"Nah-uh." Tifa responded while shaking her head in disagreement.

Yuffie's eyes widened before turning to Aerith. Aerith smiled calmly at her. "I told Cloud that I'm helping Tifa with some work regarding charity." She explained.

Yuffie's mouth dropped open as she sat down on a chair. "Oh so I'm the only one who told Zack the truth!" she pointed out.

Silence.

"Don't worry, in case he tells Cloud and Rufus, those two would never believe him. I swear!" Tifa said with a wink.

Yuffie made a face. "GAWDS! So that's why he thinks that life is so unfair because your boys and their other friends are bullying him!" she snapped in disbelief.

Tifa and Aerith just snickered, "Well that's his problem," the latter said with a silly smile on her face.

Yuffie leaned back on the chair and crossed her arms. "Hmf! Oh well… at least Zack doesn't go _baaaaah_ whenever his brain is clouded!" she said mockingly.

Aerith frowned at her. "At least Cloud doesn't think that life is unfair!" she said.

"Alright, stop it, you two," Tifa said with a singsong voice.

Yuffie just turned to her with a curious look on her face, "But if we're manually searching for your daughter, how come we're heading for Nibelheim?" she asked.

"I want to check the reactor there… just in case there's something suspicious with the reactor." Tifa explained.

"Huh? Why? What's the connection between the reactor and your daughter?" Aerith asked.

"Mako energy." Tifa answered rather vaguely that the two were not able to understand what she meant by that. When she realized this, she just sighed heavily before proceeding, "Rufus assigned Lucrecia to keep the facts about our daughter as confidential as possible. She's really doing a great job about it even though Hojo wants all the data because he's fascinated by her abilities."

"Why? What can she do?" Aerith asked curiously.

"A lot of stuff no ordinary human could do… not even you or I can do something like… moving objects, burning stuff by looking at them, telepathy, projecting your thoughts on TV…" Tifa smiled gently upon remembering the times when her daughter was still a toddler and she was taking care of her very well. "Lucrecia transferred all the facts and data on how my daughter does all that kind of stuff in a small microchip. Rufus had this microchip embedded within the ShinRa logo of the heart pendant he had asked his personal jeweler to design. Since Lucrecia works part-time in the Rocket Town hospital because she assists the interns there, she kept the pendant in a box secured inside a safe. However, when Rufus fired Hojo, we suspected that he might do something nasty like steal it… so Rufus and I asked Cloud and Sephiroth to go to Rocket Town and retrieve the box from Lucrecia. We didn't really expect that some goonies are already waiting for them there." She explained.

"Whoa… that's really something! But what's going to happen to the pendant? Is Rufus going to keep it hidden forever?" Yuffie asked in awe.

"No. Of course not. We're planning to give it to our daughter on her 18th birthday eight years from now." Tifa said with a proud look on her face.

Aerith smiled calmly, "Oh that's so sweet of you two…" she remarked with a dreamy stare.

Yuffie thought for a while before saying, "When did she disappear anyway?" she asked.

"She… disappeared during Rufus's Welcoming Ceremony in Junon last year." Tifa explained with a hard tone. She sighed heavily, "The strange thing is, there was no word about her. Not even a ransom note… we didn't know who to blame! Nobody contacted us whether they wanted anything in return… so Rufus and I thought that what that person really wanted to know is how she controls things with her mind." She explained.

"And when did you fire Hojo?" Aerith asked.

"The day before Cloud and Sephiroth tried to retrieve the box in…" Tifa trailed off as her eyes widen. "…Could it be… that he's the one responsible for this?" she whispered.

"It could be possible that an employee can do something stupid behind his boss's back." Aerith pointed out.

"So you mean to say, Hojo kidnapped the little girl and hid her some place we don't know of but he still continued to work in ShinRa for one more year before Rufus fired him?" Yuffie asked.

"Why did Rufus fire him anyway?" Aerith asked Tifa.

"He wanted to redo the JENOVA Project and wanted unborn human test subjects again… just like what he did to Lucrecia before… But thank goodness, Rufus is not as crazy like his father, so he disapproved of the idea and fired Hojo." She explained with a slight smile on her face when she finally saw the Pierre from where they are. "We're nearing Nibelheim." She announced to them.

            "You sure you're alright?" Squall asked Sora as he sat down by the bed inside the infirmary where they took Sora, Kairi, Zell and Selphie after the incident.

Sora just nodded his head with a sad look on his face. "Are… are they still… alive? Riku and Samara?" he asked.

Squall bowed down his head. "I'm not sure…" he said.

Sora just sighed heavily before he sat up on the bed. "Where are we going anyway?" he asked.

"To your area." Squall said.

Sora looked up at him with awe. "You mean… Midgar?" he asked.

"Not really sure… but we cannot really stay in the continent where Balamb Town is… Kuja and his forces are really destroying everything… and he's also after your friend, Samara, for a reason that we cannot understand." Squall explained.

"What? But… why would he even want Samara?" Sora asked with a confused look on his face.

"I don't know. We all thought that all he wanted is complete control of Planetary fuel… so he's making those light orbs appear and if people come near it, they turn into monsters." Squall told him.

Sora was silent for a while, trying to remember things that his father had mentioned to him and from the books he had read in the past. His eyes narrowed as he said, "Mako energy…"

Squall stared inquiringly at him. "Huh?"

Sora looked up at him with a stern look on his face, "Mako energy. That's what he wants! But… but why?" he asked.

"Mako energy? Where did you…"

"My daddy knows about it! If you want we can consult him!" Sora said excitedly.

Squall thought for a while before replying, "Alright… you stay here for a while. I'll just check if we're near Kalm already." He got up with a slight smile on his face before exiting.

"Kalm?" Sora asked in awe.

After waiting for a few moments, Quistis entered with a dark-haired girl in blue. "Hello, Sora. How are you feeling?" she asked.

"I'm alright, Ma'am." He replied with a weak smile on his face.

The dark-haired girl smiled at him before patting his head. "Oh, he's so cute! He looks like Cloud and Aerith combined!" she remarked.

Sora blinked. Quistis chuckled lightly, "Sora, I'd like you to meet Rinoa." She introduced. He smiled shyly at her, "Hello, ma'am." He greeted.

Rinoa smiled sweetly at him. "Nice to finally meet you. Squall's told me much about you." She said.

"Really?" Sora asked, not really knowing how to react to that. He shrugged and just smiled at them, "Uhm… Squall told me we're heading for Kalm?" he asked.

"Yes. We are. If we're not mistaken, Midgar is just near that place?" Quistis asked.

Sora thought for a while before nodding slightly, "I… guess. I'm not really sure coz I'm not familiar with that area." He said with a sheepish look on his face.

"How come?" Rinoa asked.

"Well… I didn't exactly grow up there." He replied with a silly smile on his face.

"Well then I hope people there are kind enough to people who are asking for directions if ever we get lost." She said with a wink.

He laughed at what she said, "Oh don't worry about it! I'm sure people there are nice." He pointed out.

They were silent for a while before Quistis spoke up again, "Your friend, Samara… where is she from?" she asked.

Sora shrugged. "She wouldn't really tell us." He replied.

She sighed heavily, "It's quite disturbing… what she did moments ago… she killed those creatures in black. She even disturbed the radio waves and something happened to the radar too. Nida almost failed to navigate properly moments ago and we almost crashed! … and she was able to weaken your hearts!" she pointed out with a look of disbelief on her face.

Rinoa went to the window and looked outside, "We're landing." She declared before turning to face him again with a calm look on her face, "How did you find her anyway?" she asked.

"It was Riku who discovered her inside a well when someone pushed him inside." He explained.

The two women stared at him in awe.

He nodded. "It's true! Some dork pushed them inside the well!" he told them.

"But… but who?" Rinoa asked in disbelief.

"We don't know… but maybe it's a psycho judging from what he did to them." He replied with an angry look on his face.

"Oh well… maybe you'd like us to help you investigate on that?" Rinoa asked with a sweet smile on her face.

Sora looked up at them.

"We have a feeling that the person who did that is connected to Kuja." Quistis pointed out.

Sora smiled and nodded. "Thank you, ma'am. We really appreciate your help. Oh yeah! And if you want to know something about Mako energy, you can ask my dad! We can go to him once we land!" he told them excitedly.

"That's great! Where do you live anyway?" Rinoa asked.

"Sector 2 in Midgar. However, you can also go to ShinRa and ask their Chief Scientist." He said.

"Well… we'd like to do the questioning and investigation with you and Kairi around, so better rest now and get well soon." Quistis told him with a gentle look on her face before letting him lie down again.

"But I'm fine!" Sora protested.

"No you're not. You still look pale! And your heart rate isn't normal yet. Kairi is still weak, so we'd better wait for her recovery too, okay?" she asked gently.

He just nodded miserably. She smiled as she patted his head gently, "Don't worry, we'll go your mom and dad and inform them of what happened, okay?" she asked.

Sora smiled happily. "Really?" he asked excitedly.

"Of course." Rinoa said with a kind smile on her face. "And while we're at it, we'll also send some search troops around for Riku and Samara, okay?" she asked.

Sora sighed in relief. "Gee… thank you." He said gratefully.

_Seven days later…_

            Samara slowly opened her eyes when she heard the sound of waves crashing against some big rocks. She could feel someone breathing underneath her… and her eyes suddenly widened when she realized who it was. She instantly moved away from Riku who had his arms securely around her. She stared at him for several moments as she breathed heavily. Slowly, she calmed down. "How long has it been?" she was thinking silently. She thought she had dreamt everything… from the time when she jumped off the Garden and saw that Riku followed to the time when they landed. She almost forgot to breathe again when she recalled that she was supposed to crash against the ground first… and it could kill her… but he instantly took her in his arms and they switched. The last thing she saw was his smiling face before she lost consciousness.

"Why… why did I lose consciousness too?" she thought silently. Maybe she was mentally and emotionally tired and stressed that her mind and body just gave way.

She stared at him, wanting to know if he's still breathing. She just bit her lower lip, not wanting to come near him anymore because she began to doubt him… "I can't trust anyone anymore… everybody  just wants to use me…" she thought silently as she felt tears streaming down her face. She buried her face against her knees as she crouched, embracing her knees, drawing them closer to herself. She sobbed helplessly. "Why can't I be like any normal kid?... like Theodore… or Lavinia… or even Morrigan?" she thought angrily to herself. She was better off dead… but the chance slipped away when Riku had to interfere... twice already! First, she was on her seventh day in the well when he arrived. His company kept her alive. Then when she attempted to kill herself by jumping off the Garden, he jumped too and attempted to save her life by serving as a cushion for her when they landed on the hard ground. "He's keeping me alive because he wants to use me too…" she thought silently as she continued to sob. She slowly lifted her head and gazed up at the setting sun before bowing down her head, holding the heart pendant in her hand. She smiled bitterly as she looked at the ShinRa logo. "Daddy…" she said softly as more tears fell from her eyes. She sobbed, "Mommy…" she whispered hoarsely.

Riku slowly opened his eyes when he heard someone sobbing. He gazed up at the orangey skies before he tried to stand up, but he felt some pain on his back. "O…ow…" he muttered. He fell back on the hard ground, disappointed that he did not really land on sand. Instead, he was near a cave. He turned his head to the side and saw the little girl crying just a few feet away from him. Gathering enough strength and willpower to mind off the pain he was feeling all over his body, he slowly sat up, keeping his eye on her, "Samara," he began.

She stopped crying when she heard his voice. She turned to him, eyeing him suspiciously and angrily before she wiped her tears away and got up immediately, running away from him. His eyes widened in shock. "Samara!" he called out. He reached out a hand to her… he wanted her to help him stand up… but she was gone. Frustrated and annoyed, he just decided to gather more strength and willpower to make himself useful and got up on his own. He tried to walk slowly at first until he could finally run.

Samara reached the shore, but she stopped running. There was just something about the ocean that scared her. She remembered the saying, _"Frolic in brine, goblins be thine_." She shivered as she took a few steps away from the water before the waves could wet her black leather shoes.

"Samara!" he called out to her again.

She turned around and saw him approaching. She just stood there, bowing her head. She felt so tired and helpless… she just wanted everything to go away. "I could just kill him…" she decided as she slowly lifted her gaze to him.

He finally got to her. She was about to start torturing him, but she was interrupted when he grabbed her by her shoulders and shook her rather violently, "What's wrong with you?! Huh?! This is what I get after I saved your life?! Are you insane?!" he demanded angrily.

She stared bitterly at him. Now she was really angry… She instantly grabbed his wrists tightly. He stopped shaking her and his facial expression changed from angry to calm… but it appeared like he was also going to cry. "Samara… please tell me what's wrong… I can't go on like this!" he told her with a helpless tone.

"What's wrong?! What's wrong?! You want to know what's wrong?" she clenched her teeth and her blue eyes seemed to glow strangely as they widened. Riku suddenly felt some pain in his heart again. He slowly slipped away from her as she also let go of him. He fell to the ground, clutching his chest. "Argh! Samara… stop it!!! It hurts!" he begged.

But she would not stop. She just went on.

Knowing she would not stop and part of him wanted to defend himself, he got his Keyblade, ready to use it against her, but the pain worsened. He let go of his weapon as he struggled to crawl towards her, but she was slowly moving away from him. She sneered at him, "You… you and everybody else… I cannot trust anyone anymore! All that people wanted to do to me is to call me names, discriminate me… use me! Everyone must pay… everyone will suffer…"

He looked up at her. "Samara, I… please… I'm not using you! I want to… to help you! Kuja is the one who wants you so I'm stopping him even though he's my brother! I don't know why he's even doing that… but… ow…" he crouched in pain. Tears fell from his eyes because of the unbearable pain.

She clenched her fists. "All I wanted is to be heard… for people to understand me… It's not my fault that I'm different, is it? Though sometimes, I'd wish that I was normal… just like you… or Kairi… or even Sora… or even my sisters Morrigan and Lavinia… and my brother Theodore…" she sniffed and wiped her tears away.

"Oh so you think I'm normal? What do you call this silver hair?!" he demanded from her. She just stared angrily at him as he proceeded with a bitter look on his face and a hateful tone, "I have _weird_ parents; my blood's not normal coz it's got this… JEN… JENOVA… something, whatever the hell that thing is! My eldest brother bullies me and I can't even fight him decently for a reason that I can't understand! And I…" he realized that he was already crying too… probably because of mixed emotions and the physical and emotional pain that he was feeling. But what he could not really understand is why she suddenly did not trust him… and he thought that it was one of the worst feelings in the world: to feel that people lost their trust in you.

She just bit her lower lip as she slightly bowed down her head, her hair framing her face as she clenched her fists further, not caring it her hands were already hurting. She was used to pain… and it was so horrible… so she wants to make the others feel pain too… but the pain is much worse than what she can feel emotionally and what she had suffered physically. She felt herself getting so numb… and she felt so cold and she was already shaking. "I just want to go home…" she said softly.

She sniffed and smiled bitterly at him, "I just want to be with my mommy and daddy again… to be with my family… to be happy with them… to live in peace with them…" she told him with a shaky tone as she relaxed her fists a little as she fell on her knees. She began to cry more and more… and she just covered her face and sobbed helplessly, collapsing to the ground and just crying there.

Riku felt the pain slowly fading away and he eased up. His breathing was normal again, but he was still in a state of shock. He thought he had been in hell because of the pain…. And he thought he heard her tell him, "_hell is real_." … but maybe it was just in his imagination… or she talked to him telepathically. Slowly, he got up and walked slowly to her, staring down at her with pity in his eyes. He had never seen such suffering before… and she's just a little girl…

He bent knelt down before her and touched her shoulders gently, "Samara," he began.

She was still sobbing and crying helplessly. He gently squeezed her shoulders as he smiled slightly at her, "Samara," he said softly as he slowly lifted her up, making her sit down and face him properly. Her hair was completely covering her face, but he used one of his hands to push the long ebony locks away from her face and pushing them over her shoulders. She did not want to look at him for fear that he might find out her secrets and her real suffering from deep inside once he makes direct eye contact with her in that kind of situation.

He just smiled gently at her before deciding to just take her in his arms and embrace her gently; cradling her to himself.

She just rested her head on his shoulder as she continued to cry.


	12. Chapter Eleven

11 

            "What do you mean it's closed until further notice?" Yuffie demanded from the Second Class Soldier who was standing guard by the entrance to the Nibelheim Reactor.

"I'm sorry ma'am, but President Rufus has ordered that this area be closed to tourists and other outsiders. It's pretty dangerous around here… besides, it's nighttime. Aren't you ladies supposed to be at home now?" the Soldier replied while eyeing the three women standing before him.

"Looks like he doesn't recognize you in that attire, Tifa." Aerith whispered.

Tifa stepped forward. "Look, sir, I have all the permission in the world to step inside that place," she insisted.

"Why? Who are you?" he asked mockingly.

"Only the First Lady?" she replied with an arrogant tone.

Silence.

He turned to his other comrades, "Didja hear that? She said she's the First Lady!" he said before laughing with the others.

Tifa raised her eyebrow. He smiled mockingly at her, "Listen, missy. You are just… a peasant girl. Just look at you! Your clothes are basically nothing compared to the lovely dresses of Mrs. Tifa ShinRa! Now get out of here before I call for back-up." He said.

She placed her hands on her hips. "Oh really now? Well maybe you should stop judging people by their appearance…" she said with an annoyed tone. She felt so insulted. The man cut her off by saying, "Okay, miss. I'll let you pass if you give me what I want first."

Silence.

"Tifa do you want me to kick his ass right now?" Yuffie asked airily.

Tifa just raised her hands at her friends to make them stop their attempt to defend her from the maniac. She just smiled calmly at the man, "You want a salary deduction?" she asked coolly.

He laughed at her, eyeing her from head to toe and up again, "No, I want you…. I can even pay a good deal if…" he trailed off when he caught sight of the necklace and the pendant that Tifa was wearing. He gasped and he turned pale all of a sudden. "HOLY SHIT!?!?!???!!!??" he cried out in sudden fear like he had seen a ghost.

She noticed him looking at her lower part of the neck and that's when she remembered that she was still wearing the heart-shaped silver locket with the ShinRa logo on it that Rufus had given to her as an engagement present. "Oh this?" she asked, touching the locket. "It's a gift _from the President_." She told him.

All the soldiers in that place were awe-stricken and became speechless. All they could do was gape unbelievably at her.

"All of you are fired." She said simply before pushing one of them aside and went through the entrance to the reactor.

Yuffie and Aerith followed after her. "Gee, Tifa… you really gained a lot of power just by marrying that blonde imp." The former remarked.

"You sound like I'm just using him!" Tifa said defensively with a hurtful look on her face.

"At least Rufus is not a black-haired imp!" Aerith giggled. Tifa joined in, laughing at the joke.

Yuffie sneered at them, "Tell that to Sephiroth, he might freak out and go on a killing spree again!"

The two stopped laughing. "Hey isn't this the place where he supposedly died?" Tifa asked with a playful tone.

Yuffie just raised an eyebrow at her.

Tifa winked before turning to the reactor. There were several bad memories in that place… but she tried not to think so much about it and let those memories bother her.

Aerith stared at the glowing light. "Reminds me of Cloud's eyes…" she said softly.

Tifa scanned the surroundings. "It's too dim in here… let's just go back tomorrow." She told them with a soft tone.

Aerith nodded. "Okay. But hopefully, your Soldiers won't tell Rufus that you were here and you just fired them because they were so rude." She said.

Tifa just smiled at her friend. "I know that he'll eventually know where I am even though he's still in Junon right now." She said.

"I thought he'll just be in Junon for a one-day conference and an inspection?" Yuffie asked.

"Knowing Rufus, he extended the conference so that he can forget his household problems and focus on his work." Tifa said with a silly smile on her face before following Aerith outside.

"Don't tell me… you're the one who gave him that advice, huh?" Yuffie asked with a weak smile on her face.

"Hey, it's a chance for me to get out of ShinRa for a while and experience traveling without the luxuries that he could offer! Heehee!" Tifa replied with a wink.

"Yeah, right…" Yuffie turned to Aerith with a wicked smile on her face, "I told you, Aerith, Tifa is just using that blonde imp." She sneered.

Aerith just frowned slightly. "Huh?"

"Yuffie?!" Tifa exclaimed.

Yuffie laughed heartily at her, "Gotcha again! Man, you really love that blonde imp, huh?" she asked while jumping up and down around Tifa playfully. Tifa just made a face. "Oh, grow up!" Tifa responded with a look of disbelief on her face.

            Cloud was trying to cook a decent dinner for himself… because for the past few days that Aerith had been away, all he ate was fast food delivered to his doorstep. He tried reading one of the cookbooks that Aerith owns, but there were several terms that he could not understand. "What the hell is a _pint_?!" he asked out loud. He proceeded to read. "…_a pinch of salt_…" he thought for a while. "…_a dash of pepper_…" he scratched his head. "What the hell are these?!" he cried out. He almost dropped the book when he heard the doorbell.

He instantly got up from the stool by the kitchen counter and rushed to the door, hoping that it's Aerith, back from her trip to an orphanage (at least that's what he knows…). But he was quite disappointed… but surprised at the same time when he saw his son, Sora, with _Leon_ and a tall blonde guy wearing a trenchcoat. He stared curiously at the blonde guy, "Hey, Rufus, where'd you get the scar?" he asked.

Seifer raised an eyebrow at him. "What?" he asked.

Sora jumped up and down in joy as he exclaimed, "Daddy!!!!!" and embraced his father. Cloud smiled happily as he patted Sora's head, "Hey, Sora. Welcome home!" he greeted with a smile on his face before turning back to the two others with him, "And you brought Leon with you too…" he pointed out.

"Squall." Squall corrected.

Silence.

"And I'm Seifer." Seifer introduced himself.

Cloud frowned slightly, feeling embarrassed because of his mistake, "Oh… sorry if I mistook you for someone else." He said stiffly.

Seifer just smiled slyly, "Oh yes… just like from way back. People still mistake me for him… and he for me." He explained before raking his fingers through his hair.

"And you even have the same behavior with that hair…" Cloud was thinking silently before stepping aside to let them in. "Come in. I'm just… about to order dinner." He told them rather hesitantly.

Sora blinked. "Huh? Why? Where's mom?" he asked.

"She's on a trip with Tifa and Yuffie. Tifa's doing some charity work." Cloud explained as he shut the door after they had entered.

"Oh her. How's Yuffie?" Squall asked.

"She's alright, I guess. So, did you find the box?" Cloud asked, turning to Sora.

Sora thought for a while before remembering about the box. "Oh that! Well…" he smiled weakly.

Cloud's eyes widened at him, "Oh no… don't tell me something happened to it?" he asked.

"What's so important about that box anyway? Kairi even told me about it." Seifer said with an impatient look on his face.

"Well… it is not important to me… but it is important to Rufus." Cloud said.

Silence.

"…and to Teef too." He added.

Silence.

"Who the hell is Teef? I even heard Cid mention her!" Sora said, finally remembering.

"Teef is just a nickname we call Tifa." His father answered.

"And who's Tifa?" Squall asked curiously.

"The First Lady. Tifa Lockheart-ShinRa." Cloud replied, surprised that they do not know.

Seifer just shrugged and sat down on the couch. "Kairi said that Samara is wearing the pendant with the necklace that were once inside that box." He pointed out.

Cloud raised an eyebrow before turning to him. "Samar… Samara?" he asked.

"Some weird girl who even said that I remind her of her daddy." Seifer explained before he grabbed a picture frame with the Strife family photo on it, examining the photo with an eyebrow raised while eyeing each of the people there carefully.

Cloud was quiet for a while before turning away, going to the telephone to call for Chinese food. "What do you guys want? We're having Chinese." He told them.

"Can't you cook, dad?" Sora asked curiously as he plopped down on the couch. "Man, I missed this couch!" he said happily while letting himself bounce up and down on it.

Cloud had this miserable look on his face before smiling weakly at Sora. "I… can cook… but not like your mom." He pointed out.

Seifer snickered at him, "Sora, what your dad is trying to tell you is that, _he doesn't know how to cook!_" he snapped.

Sora's eyes widened at him. "Oh no!" he turned to his father. "Dad! What will become of us in case mommy doesn't come back here?!" he asked in shock.

"Why?" Cloud asked.

"What if mommy gets into an accident?" Sora stated.

Cloud's mouth dropped open.

"Like Kuja attacks her and she can't fight back!"

Cloud's eyes widened.

"…or you said she's doing charity work, right? What if the orphans are dangerous and they kill her?" Sora pointed out.

Cloud felt his knees getting weaker.

"And what if the First Lady snaps and she kills mommy!!!" Sora cried out.

Silence.

"Okay, that's enough exaggeration," Cloud began with a stern but shaky tone before picking up the receiver and then dialed some numbers. While talking on the phone, Squall sat down beside Seifer, saying to Sora, "Your dad's been exposed to Mako?"

Sora shrugged. "We can ask him." He pointed out.

After a few minutes, Cloud hung up, "I just ordered four orders of sweet and sour pork rice toppings." He told them before going to his son and messed up his hair, "So where's Kairi?" he asked.

"She went home for a while to her dad to ask some questions." Sora replied with a cheery smile on his face.

Cloud frowned slightly upon hearing that. "Her dad…" he repeated. He sat down on another couch as he asked Seifer and Squall, "Where are you guys staying anyway?"

"We actually flew here all the way from Balamb. We had to evacuate the whole Garden because Kuja totally bombed the whole place… every single city and town he could find in our territory." Squall explained.

"We _parked_ the Garden in Kalm." Seifer pointed out.

Cloud was silent for a few moments before nodding his head. "I see…" he turned to Sora, suspicious that something bad happened to him. Sora just smiled weakly at his father before saying, "I… ran into some trouble… to be honest with you, dad."

Silence.

"Anyway, we'd like to ask you a few questions…" Squall began.

            Over dinner, Cloud, Squall and Seifer were still talking about Mako and JENOVA and other stuff from the past like Meteor. Sora just sat quietly, eating his food while listening carefully to the conversation.

"I was… once exposed to Mako. But I was able to survive its side-effects… I guess." Cloud proceeded before turning to look at his son, then back to Squall. "…I'm not even sure but probably, I passed some to Sora…" he pointed out.

Sora's eyes widened. "What?!" he asked in awe.

"And he also has some Cetra blood in him. That's… amazing." Seifer said with a slight frown on his face.

"Cetra?!" Sora asked in shock.

"Don't tell me you haven't informed him about it?" Squall asked Cloud.

Cloud turned to Sora with a serious look on his face. "No."

Silence.

"I'll explain later, Sora." Cloud said with a slight frown on his face before turning back to Squall. "So you're planning to take on Kuja?" he asked.

"If we know how to beat him, yes. He seems quite powerful. He's the one trying to gain complete control over Mako, but I guess he couldn't handle it fully because it seems like he's trying to summon it out of the Planet little by little but he cannot hold on to it." Squall said.

"That's when Samara comes into the picture. Sora and Kairi informed us of what Samara can do while they were recuperating from her attack a week ago." Seifer pointed out.

"Attack?" Cloud asked in disbelief.

"She went berserk and almost ended up killing all of us. Then she just jumped off the Garden and… Riku followed her… and up to now, we still don't know where they are…" Sora said with a hard look on his face.

Cloud was surprised when he heard that. "What? You mean… Riku is… missing?" he asked in awe.

"Hopefully nothing bad happened to him…" Squall began with a low tone as he lowered his gaze to the plate. His eyes were giving off a look that told them that he's thinking that something must've really happened to Riku and Samara.

"What happened? What made her… do that? And how?" Cloud asked.

"Do what?" Seifer asked.

"You said she almost ended up killing all of you," he responded.

"It's so strange, dad. She was running away from… Kuja. I think he wants to do something bad to her… like use her or something, I'm not sure." Sora pointed out.

"Yes… Kuja's all over the news now even though some facts are still unknown on why he's doing those things. Besides, I don't think Rufus would be revealing all the facts that ShinRa had discovered for the last few days of investigation." Cloud said.

Squall was silent for a while before finally deciding to ask, "Is it really confidential?"

"I'm afraid so. You can talk to Rufus about it…" he replied.

Squall nodded slightly. "I think I'll do that now. We have to hurry or else Kuja might destroy another area." He pointed out.

"Dad," Sora began.

Cloud turned to his son, "Yes?" he asked before proceeding to eat.

Sora smiled weakly, "So… the bright light that you were telling me about… has something to do with Mako?" he asked while looking into his father's eyes. There seems to be a strange glow in it… a glow that he could not understand when he was still a little boy. His mother just told him that his father is _special_ that's why he's got eyes like those…

Cloud's lips twisted into a slight but painful smile but he did not say anything else. He just got up from his seat, "If you guys are ready to leave, just tell me. I'll be in the Living Room. I'll accompany you guys to Rufus." He told them with a serious tone, avoiding their stares as he left the dining area.

Sora frowned slightly before he rushed to his father, following after him. "Dad," he began.

Cloud just seated himself on the couch, leaning forward and resting his elbows on his thighs while his hands were clasped together and his forehead leaning on them. Sora slowed down, staring at his father with an inquiring look on his face.

Back in the dining area, Squall was staring strangely at the doorway leading to the living room area.

Seifer just continued to eat, "Leave them alone, puberty-boy." He instructed.

Squall looked away from the door and just continued to eat quietly.

            Sora sat down beside his father. "Dad," he began softly.

Cloud moved his hands away from his face as he leaned back on the couch. He turned his gaze to his son with a serious look on his face.

"Dad, you can tell me everything you want to tell me… I know I'd understand… I'm not a little kid anymore." Sora said with a pleading look on his face.

Cloud just smiled calmly at him before looking up at the ceiling, "When you told me that you were hearing those high-pitched sounds, I thought I would panic immediately… but thought to myself, hey, it's natural. He's my son." He sighed heavily and looked at his son. "I used to hear those too. It just signifies that we are… connected, not just as father and son but… something else that I cannot even explain… just as we are connected to that king of unexplained force that's making us hear those sounds. There could be instances wherein… someone might take advantage of that connection… those more powerful than you are… but don't let them do that to you. You must always… know yourself." He explained with a slight frown on his face. As he was explaining those things to Sora, several flashbacks returned to his consciousness… the times when Sephiroth would control him and appear in his thoughts like he's going to drive him crazy. And the incident with the Black Materia… He felt so ashamed of himself when he remembered that he beat up Aerith just because of Sephiroth. Cloud shook his head in annoyance before forcing a smile at Sora, "Kairi's not hearing those?" he asked.

Sora thought for a while before saying, "I don't think so. She hasn't told me anything… why?"

Cloud just chuckled lightly, "Okay, so it looks like you are more prone to danger than your friends, huh?" he asked, meaning it as a joke as he messed up his son's hair. Sora cringed. "Aw, dad! Stop doing that!" he moved away from his father for a while, watching him laughing lightly. Sora sat down on another couch adjacent to his dad.

Cloud stopped laughing and crossed his arms with a smug smile on his face. "Don't worry, Sora. Daddy will not let you fight alone. I'll be with you when you face even the toughest of all enemies… of course, there would be some instances wherein I cannot always be there…" he began, but Sora smiled calmly at him. "Don't worry, dad. I know how to take care of myself… thanks to you and mom." He said.

Cloud just smiled at him, observing the determined look in his son's eyes. He hasn't seen such of that kind of too much determination when he was that young… and he was proud to think that his son isn't anything like him from before. He could remember clearly what he had sworn to himself and to Aerith the day Sora was born: He would never let Sora experience the unpleasant things that he had experienced from before.

With that, Sora got up and moved to his father, sitting down beside him and embracing him tightly. Cloud was surprised at first, but he eased up. He put his arms around his son and patted his back reassuringly. "Atta boy," he murmured softly. Slowly, he turned his gaze to the doorway to the dining area. Squall and Seifer were watching them with smiles on their faces. Cloud just smiled slightly at them before they got back to the dining area to finish their dinner.

            Sephiroth was gazing at the whole city of Midgar which would be seen from ShinRa's 70th floor windows while waiting for Rufus to finish his phone call.

"By… around before midnight. Yes." Rufus was saying to the other person on the line before hanging up. Sighing heavily, he got his mobile phone and began to dial some numbers before putting it by his right ear, listening to the ringing. He turned his chair to face Sephiroth who was standing a few meters away from him, staring outside the window.

And someone finally answered, "Hello, darling!" greeted the person from the other line.

Rufus stiffened his jaws and deepened his frown to stop himself from smiling. Sephiroth turned around to look at him, studying the stiffness of his face and smiled teasingly at Rufus's effort of stopping himself from smiling.

"Hello, darling. Where are you?" Rufus asked, his voice growing louder in the next sentence. Sephiroth just raised an eyebrow at Rufus.

Rufus sneered at him while listening to Tifa, "I'm just here in Nibelheim with Aerith and Yuffie." She said.

"And what are you doing there? I thought I already told you to come back here?" he asked stiffly before he got up and went to Sephiroth, pushing him aside before standing stiffly by the window, looking at the nightlife of Midgar.

"Rufus, I need more time here…" Tifa began, but he cut her off, "Tifa, you took my yacht without my permission and you left without any permission! Now I received word that you just fired several of the Second Class Soldier that's why Sephiroth is here right now discussing the matter with me. And Theodore and Lavinia are missing you already; Tifa, they need a mother to take care of them. And I'm about to leave to Junon tonight with Cloud and the others to discuss some matters about Kuja and his plans." He snapped impatiently at her.

She just giggled. He raised an eyebrow.

            Tifa was soaking in her tub with a solemn smile on her face. "Rufus, Rufus, Rufus… I knew you'd react that way." She said softly.

He was silent.

She followed one of the floating bubbles with her gaze and used her free hand to catch it, eventually popping it. "But I'm doing this for our family… and for Samara." She told him.

            Sephiroth stepped away from Rufus, observing the blank look on his face. "Tifa must've said something to counter what he said…" he thought silently before proceeding to the desk. He saw a framed family picture of the ShinRas. He proceeded to the big office chair and sat down on it, staring closely at the picture as he leaned forward and resting his elbows on the desk. A red curtain was behind them and it was parted enough so that the big ShinRa logo could be noticed. Rufus and Tifa were standing behind a white divan, while three others were seated on it. Seated in the middle was a blonde girl with blue eyes and she was all-smiles… and she was very beautiful. She's wearing a red gown. She had her arms around the shoulders of the two kids on both her sides. One is a little girl with very long jet-black hair and she's wearing a white dress. She was not even smiling and the way she's looking at the camera seemed to reveal that she was not really excited during having her picture taken, unlike her older sister. Her blue eyes were similar to Rufus's; seemingly giving off a cold glare. The other one was a little boy who looks like a carbon copy of Rufus but his eyes are crimson like Tifa. He had a pleased smile on his face… and somewhat proud-looking too. Then there was another little girl but she was seated on a small footstool positioned between the left foot of the blonde young lady and the right foot of the raven-haired little girl. She has blonde hair and crimson eyes just like the little boy, and she's also smiling happily. She's wearing a white dress. And finally, lying by her feet was Dark Nation.

What caught Sephiroth's attention was the little girl with jet-black hair. He stared closely at her with a curious look on his face.

Finally, Rufus ended the call and approached Sephiroth with a curious look on his face, "What are you doing sitting on my chair?" he demanded rather harshly.

Sephiroth slowly got up, but still keeping his eye on the little girl on the picture. "Who's she?" he asked.

Rufus followed his gaze and stared at his family picture. "Which?" he asked.

"The little girl beside Morrigan… the one behind Lavinia?" Sephiroth asked.

Rufus's facial expression eased up a bit, but his tone was still stiff. "That's Theodore's twin sister." Was all he said.

Silence.

"Well, what's her name?" Sephiroth asked with an impatient tone.

Before Rufus could answer, they heard footsteps climbing up the stairs leading to the office. It was Cloud Strife with Sora, Seifer and Squall. He frowned slightly, smiling rather arrogantly at the newcomers as he sat down on his chair. "Pleasant evening," he greeted stiffly.

"Good evening, sir!" Sora greeted cheerfully while Cloud just nodded his head in greeting before introducing Squall and Seifer, "Rufus, these are Squall and Seifer from Balamb…" he began.

"Yes, I know Seifer." Rufus said with a slight smile on his face as he got up and flipped his hair.

Seifer smiled slyly at him. "Well, I'm glad to know that you still remember me." He said before turning to Sephiroth.

Sephiroth also smiled at him before turning to Cloud, "I know him too." He pointed out.

Cloud made a face, "Don't tell me… you all met at the UVA?" he asked rather sarcastically.

"What the hell is UVA?" Seifer asked in confusion.

"United Villains' Association." Cloud pointed out.

Silence.

"Very funny, Strife," Rufus said with a sarcastic smile on his face.

Squall just stared blankly at Rufus. "It's nice to meet you, Rufus." He said.

Sephiroth stared curiously at Squall. "I thought your name's Leon?" he asked with an inquiring look on his face.

"Squall." Squall corrected with a stiff look on his face.

Silence.

Cloud and Sora just gave Sephiroth a look which told him to just stop asking questions and leave the guy alone. Sephiroth just sneered at them before he stepped forward. "Anyway I guess it's nice to see you here again… all of you." He told them rather casually.

Rufus followed after him, his hands inside his side blazer pockets. "I've heard of your Garden's arrival a week ago but I was in Junon back then. Took longer than expected for me to return here. I had to do a lot of things all at the same time like closing a deal with clients and then doing some investigations regarding this silver-haired dork's daughter." He pointed out while eyeing Sephiroth with a nasty look on his face.

Sephiroth rolled his eyes before he turned around to face Rufus, "For the last time, ShinRa, Kuja is a man." He pointed out.

Rufus just smiled nastily at him, "What-ever." He said without any care before stepping forward to stand face-to-face with Squall. "So what is your business here?" he asked coolly.

Squall stared at him for a while before answering, "We would like to help you in your problem…"

"Like we join forces. ShinRa and some of our best SeeDs…" Seifer summarized.

Silence.

Sora was staring at Seifer, and then at Rufus… then back at Seifer again. "Hey!" he suddenly mentioned.

All eyes turned to him. He blinked in awe staring at Seifer, "Didn't Samara mention that you look like her father?" he asked. The mention of the name made Rufus instantly turn to him and approached him, removing his hands from his pockets. "What?" he asked with a frantic tone.

Sora was quite surprised because of Rufus's sudden reaction. "I…" he began, but he froze when Rufus suddenly grabbed him by the shoulders and stooped down so that he was face-to-face with him.

"I… do you know Samara?" Sora asked with a confused look on his face.

Rufus's eyes widened as he slowly let go of the boy and stood up straight, turning to Seifer. Sora ran to his father and stood beside him.

Seifer just frowned slightly, confused because of Rufus's sudden reactions. He raked his fingers through his hair, "What's wrong with the girl telling me that I look like his dad…" he trailed off upon realizing something. "Shit… don't tell me…" he began.

Rufus rushed to his desk and grabbed the family picture, showing it to everyone. "Does she look like her?" he asked.

Sora's eyes widened in shock. Seifer's frown deepened as he examined the girl on the photo.

"That _is_ her!" he declared.

            Samara already felt so tired but she could not close her eyes. She just stared blankly at the ocean, watching the waves crashing against the shore and some rocks as she remained seated a meter away from the bonfire that Riku had managed to start by gathering some sticks and stones.

Meanwhile, Riku was just standing by the shore, observing the waves as they crashed on his feet.

Samara started to observe him when she was able to read his thoughts and know what he is feeling… loneliness. She bowed down her head, letting her hair frame her face as she slowly got up and walked to him, but would not come any nearer than a meter away from him because she really feared the ocean.

Sensing her presence, he turned his head to the side and saw her through his peripheral vision. He just smiled faintly before turning away from her and looking up at the stars and the moon. "You should be asleep now," he told her.

She was just silent, observing his back view while recalling the days when she was in the laboratory… she would not sleep. She could not sleep.

And she wasn't sure if the 7-day unconsciousness she had to undergo after jumping off the Garden could be considered as _sleep_.

And it came to her: she hasn't been sleeping for a year that she had forgotten how to close her eyes and sleep. She lowered her gaze to the sand as she thought about that.

Riku, noticing her silence, turned around to face her with a curious look on her face. She looked more mysterious… and scary under the moonlight with that kind of appearance. "Why don't you come closer? Don't you like the water?" he asked curiously, also remembering that she was supposed to go into the ocean some hours ago when she almost killed him but she just stopped herself.

She looked at him again, then at the ocean, then back at him again. She did not say anything but her eyes revealed to Riku that she _did _fear the waters.

"Why?" he asked curiously.

She was silent for a while before replying in a low whisper, "Frolic in brine; goblins be thine."

He raised his eyebrows at her. "What?" he asked, moving closer to her with a curious look on his face. It was an old proverb, he knew… and it somehow has a creepy point to it. "Samara, that's just a saying by old people so that kids won't play in the water and drown themselves." He pointed out.

"But it's true," she told him.

They just stared at each other for several seconds without saying anything… until she moved her gaze past him and stared at the crashing waves. "What about you? Don't you want to sleep?" she asked softly.

He was quite surprised by the question, but he still answered, "Nah… I don't think I'll be able to sleep."

"Why not?" she asked before sitting down on the sand. He went beside her and sat down too, lying back on the sand and spreading his arms across himself and then sighing in desperation. "Oh nothing… It's just that… I'm uncomfortable in this place… although I grew up in a town by the ocean when I was much younger." He admitted.

She was silent for a while, pulling her knees closer to herself and resting her chin on them. She was hugging her legs close to herself with a solemn look on her face, "You miss your mommy and daddy, don't you?" she asked softly.

Riku was surprised by what she said. _How did she know?!_ He slowly sat up and stared unbelievably at her. She couldn't determine whether she was smiling or not because of the shadow being cast upon her face by her hair almost covering her whole face. He was just quiet, waiting for her to say something else… and she turned her head to her side to look at him, "Don't worry. I miss my mommy and daddy too." She admitted with a tone that seemed to falter. He smiled sadly at her as he moved closer and placed his arm around her shoulders. She instantly leaned her head against him. They were quiet for a while before Samara spoke up again, "Mommy once told me to sing a happy song whenever I am feeling sad or lonely."

He turned his gaze to her.

She smiled sadly as she kept her gaze at the ocean, "She's almost always away and busy with her duties… same with daddy. She cannot always take me along with her because I have to go to school. I only get to see her before bedtime or sometimes, after I come home from school. I told her that I always want her and daddy to be with me… because I feel so sad and lonely whenever they are away…"

_            Samara looked up at her mother with a sad look on her face._

_Tifa sat down on her bed and took her daughter in her arms, sighing heavily as she gently stroked her long jet-black hair. "Samara dear… mommy and daddy are always thinking of you… but if whenever you feel sad and lonely, you can always sing a song. Even if you are afraid, you can always hum a tune so that you will be happy," she said softly._

_"Really?"__ Samara asked curiously. Her mother nodded. "Yes, dear. Do you remember the song that your daddy and I loved to play on the piano?" she asked with a sweet tone on her face._

_Samara smiled rather excitedly upon remembering the song and she nodded excitedly. "You even taught me to play that!" she said happily._

_Tifa giggled. "Well, I sing or hum that song whenever I am sad. Do you want me to sing it to you?" she asked gently._

_Samara nodded with a pleading look on her face as she embraced her mommy. Tifa cradled her daughter in her arms before she started singing gently:_

_There's a summer place_

_Where it may rain or storm     _

_Yet I'm safe and warm         _

_For within that summer place               _

_Your arms reach out to me                     _

_And my heart is free from all care …_

_For it knows                                 _

_There are no gloomy skies                                   _

_When seen through the eyes                                     _

_Of those who are blessed with love…_

            Riku listened carefully to her story with a serious look on his face, the image of his own mother and father haunting him at the back of his mind… followed by several memories of home… everything about it… He smiled gently upon remembering those things.

Samara was looking up at him with a curious look on her face. He just gazed back into her eyes, but his smile faded away as he said solemnly, "Teach it to me, Samara."

Her eyes widened a little before she smiled gently and looked down to the ground. And softly, she began…

_There's a summer place_

_Where it may rain or storm     _

_Yet I'm safe and warm         _

_For within that summer place               _

_Your arms reach out to me                     _

_And my heart is free from all care …_

_For it knows                                 _

_There are no gloomy skies                                   _

_When seen through the eyes                                     _

_Of those who are blessed with love…_

He was just silent, listening to the sweetness of her voice… and he felt at ease, his thoughts filled with pleasant memories from home. And he looked up at the stars as she continued to sing for him.

She stopped singing when she noticed what he was doing… and she also looked up. She focused her attention on a star that wasn't twinkling and she felt somewhat disappointed again as she said, "Riku,"

He looked back at her with a stiff look on his face.

She narrowed her eyes at the star. "Why do we feel loneliness?" she asked.

He was silent for a while, contemplating her question. Suddenly, he remembered something. He smiled rather excitedly before letting go of her and then reaching for his pocket and pulled out star-shaped object.

A Paopu fruit. He showed it to her. "Here you go," he took her hand and then placed it on her palm. She stared strangely at it. "What is it?" she asked curiously.

He smiled rather proudly, "It's a Paopu fruit." He said.

She examined it closely with a slight frown on her face. "Paopu?" she repeated. She sniffed it before looking back at him, "Is it meant to be eaten?" she asked.

He placed his arm around her again as he said with a gentle smile on her face, "So you will never be lonely again," he began. She looked at him. He leaned his head against hers, "I'm giving it to you." He told her.

She smiled at him before bowing down her head, staring at the fruit. "Thank you, Riku… thank you for being nice to me." She said softly.

"Hmm?" he responded.

She was quiet for a while before replying, "I've… never had friends before…" she looked towards the ocean, observing it carefully before proceeding, "…I grew up in Sector 1, Midgar. I belong to this… very rich and powerful family… and everybody saw that our life was so perfect. Daddy is rich and smart… and mommy is charitable and loving and a strong woman… my older sister Morrigan is a great actress and she's very famous and beautiful that almost all the boys love and adore her… then there's my twin brother, Theodore, who's always happy, like he never had any problems. It's like he can never be disappointed at anything. Then my younger sister Lavinia… she's just… cheerful just like mommy… and even if there is something wrong, she is still smiling.  Everybody looks up to our family… and everyone in my family has a lot of friends and acquaintances… except for me. Everyone outside my family had always thought that I was strange… They're not saying it out loud but I could read it in their minds through the look in their eyes. So I just avoided people… and the only people whom I'm close with were my mommy and daddy, my twin and my sisters."

Riku frowned slightly, "Did people avoid you too?" he asked curiously.

She just bowed down her head, "I didn't want to… but there's just something in me that told me that I should just avoid everybody so that I couldn't hurt them… but it just won't stop… and I'm sorry that many people have died because of me…" she said softly. She placed the Paopu fruit inside a secret pocket of her long white dress before she reached for the pendant and stared at the logo behind it. "ShinRa… it's my family name." she explained.

Riku's eyes widened upon hearing that. "What? So…" he did not know how to continue when he saw tears in her eyes. She just smiled bitterly at him. He smiled gently at her and embraced her. "Shh… it's alright…" he said softly.

She sniffed but stopped her tears from falling. They were quiet for so many minutes; but just when Samara thought that he was already asleep, he spoke up with a soft tone, "Me? I really couldn't say that my family is _perfect_… because… it's weird. My older brother, Dante? He's almost always bullying me and the rest of his younger siblings… then there's Kuja…" he looked towards the ocean before proceeding, "I think the reason why he's doing this is because… he wants attention from our dad."

She looked up at him as he continued, "It's kind of… funny… how dad treats Kuja like he's not even there… Even if Kuja does something nice once in a while, everybody would know except for dad."

"Well that's too bad for him…" she responded rather glumly. "But what does he want with all the Mako energy?" she asked.

He frowned at her, "How did you know that he wants to use Mako energy?" he asked curiously.

She smiled slyly, "It's easy. It's in his eyes… and through his eyes, I read his thoughts. He wants to use me so that I can control it for him instead of using the reactors that my daddy's trying to shut down one by one without disrupting the regular flow of electricity." She explained; but when he did not say anything, she realized that he was not able to understand half of what she had just mentioned. Rolling her eyes, she grunted and said, "In short, I'm like a human Mako reactor."

Riku's eyes widened. "What?! But… isn't Mako… dangerous?" he asked in confusion.

She just looked away from him but she did not say anything. He slowly let go of her and just decided to plop down on the sand, gazing up at the stars. "Well… I will not let Kuja do anything bad to you." Was all he said.

She just sat still, lowering her eyes to the ground as she began to sing again. He just listened carefully to her, as if she was singing a lullaby… and slowly, he drifted off to sleep.

She stopped singing when she sensed that he was already asleep. She decided to lie down beside him, resting her head on his chest. But she did not close her eyes.

She did not sleep.


	13. Chapter Twelve

12 

            The next day, Riku and Samara decided to roam around the beach, realizing that it was a very big island. "Gee, this place is so big. I wonder where we are." he said out loud.

She just stared straight ahead and continued to walk beside him but did not say anything. The hot noontime sun was already beginning to get into her nerves because she hated humid weather and the sun burning her skin, but she just kept all of her complains to herself. Riku, on the other hand, seemed to be so used to that kind of weather.

As they continued to walk, a small seaside village was slowly coming into view. It made her feel relieved, "Finally! Civilization!" she cheered, but she sounded sarcastic.

He just smiled in relief as he took her hand, "C'mon, let's run for it!" he urged before he started running. She hasn't run in a very long while, that's why it almost took forever before she got used to the feeling of running… and someone's dragging her. She could recall her twin brother dragging her along with him to a toy store or outside the ShinRa building to greet the chopper that just landed carrying their parents inside from Junon.

When they finally arrived at the entrance of the village, Riku had a pleased smile on his face even though he was panting lightly. Samara was panting lightly, looking around her new surroundings. "What is this place?" she asked out loud.

They saw that the people there still proceeded with their usual activities, as if they did not even notice Riku and Samara's presence in that place.

"What are we going to do here?" she asked him.

"Well… we haven't eaten in more than seven days already… so I think we should look for a place to eat. Besides, I'm already starving!" he told her as he pulled her along with him for a walk around the place.

"Well I'm not hungry." She said with a spoiled tone.

"You should eat. Look at your wrist; I could form a fist just by holding it!" he told her.

"I'm naturally like this, thank you very much." She snapped back at him before she pulled her wrist away from him and crossed her arms. "Besides, even if we do find a restaurant or a café here, do you think we have the money to buy some food?" she asked airily.

Silence.

"Well… I have a some 500 Gil here." He said with a serious look on his face as they stopped walking for a while to discuss about monetary matters.

"Why can't we just eat your Paopu fruit?" she asked curiously.

"Well… it's not really meant to be eaten now that I've given it to you," he told her quite embarrassingly. She narrowed her eyes on him, "What do you mean?" she asked.

"Don't worry about it, Samara. We'll share the 500 that I have and we can have a good meal." He said with a reassuring smile, deciding to just change the subject.

"What if their currency is not Gil?" she asked.

"I have Mickey Mouse money here!" he declared.

She stared unbelievably at him before scratching her head. "Hmf! I'm not even sure if I can use my authority in this place… I doubt if they even know what ShinRa is." She muttered miserably before turning around and saw a happy young lady passing by, jumping up and down with a pleased look on her face while holding a glass of mango shake. "Heehee! Thanks a lot for this shake, Paine!"

"Just drink it before you spill it again just like what you did the other day." The goth girl who was with her replied with a miserable look on her face.

"But we didn't buy anything for Yuna and Tidus!" the happy girl replied with a disappointed look on her face.

"Never mind! Besides, it's a birthday party so expect lots of drinks there." The goth girl replied.

"But why'd we have to buy our own shakes outside?" the happy girl asked.

"Coz they don't serve those there. C'mon, let's hurry." the goth girl said before hurrying up.

The happy girl walked faster while giggling happily.

Riku stared unbelievably at the happy girl. "I know her!" he declared before he grabbed Samara's wrist and dragged her along with him as he ran after the two young ladies, "Hey! Rikku!" he called out.

The happy girl with orangey-hair stopped running, so did the goth girl and turned around to face Riku and Samara. The happy girl smiled joyfully before handing her mango shake to the goth girl. She squealed excitedly, "RIKU!" and jumped up and down before meeting him, embracing him tightly.

Samara pulled away from him as he struggled to push Rikku away from himself because he could not breathe. "You both have the same name?" they heard the goth girl ask as she approached them.

Rikku faced her with a cheerful smile on her face, "Sorta… but I have a double K while he's got a single one. Heehee! Oh yeah, Riku, this is my friend Paine." She introduced cheerfully as she stepped aside, referring to her friend.

Riku nodded his head in greeting, "Nice to meet you, Paine." He replied.

Rikku turned her gaze to Samara, "Who's she?" she asked.

He turned to Samara and placed his arm around her shoulder with a proud smile on his face, "This, here, is Samara. She's a new friend of mine." He introduce.

Rikku smiled sweetly at the little girl. "Cool! I like your name! It's so pretty! Heehee!" she approached her and embraced her welcomingly. "My name is Rikku. I hope we can become friends too, Samzy! Oh, can I call you Samzy?" she asked happily as she withdrew from her.

Samara just stared unbelievably at her, remembering that her own siblings would call her by that nickname… and Rikku's cheerfulness and sweetness simply reminded her of her own younger sister, Lavinia. She just smiled slightly. "I… guess so." She said rather shyly.

"Awww, don't be shy! I'm a nice girl!" Rikku said frankly with a silly smile on her face.

"Oh, no she's not. She eats little girls!" Paine said jokingly even if she still looked serious. Rikku pouted, turning her gaze to Paine and eyeing her irritably, "No I don't!" she snapped.

Paine just smiled and turned to Samara and gave her a friendly smile. Samara just smiled shyly at her.

Rikku moved away from them, "C'mon, join the party! We're going back to Wakka's house now!" she said.

Riku blinked. "Why? What's going on in Wakka's house?" he asked.

"Today is his un-birthday! Teehee!" Rikku said cheerfully while jumping up and down and then went ahead of them.

Riku and Samara stared unbelievably at her as she ran off. Paine just shook her head in misery, "She's actually the one who planned that un-birthday party for herself yesterday, and Wakka found it amusing and fun so he wanted his own un-birthday… and that is today. And tomorrow, and the day after tomorrow… you know how it goes." Paine pointed out to them.

Riku just nodded, quite confused. "Yes… I guess…" he simply said, trying to remember Alice In Wonderland.

She just motioned for them to follow after her, "C'mon, let's get going. You guys look so famished. Don't worry, there's lots of food there. And I'll introduce you to the others." She said before leading the way.

Riku turned to Samara with a serious look on his face, "Let's go," he said.

She just nodded before walking with him.

            "Whoa… so this is Junon in the daytime." Sora said in awe as he looked at the ocean and the nearby houses while standing in one of the balconies of the ShinRa residence in Junon. Kairi was also looking at the lovely scenery with a calm smile on her face. "The breeze is so nice here! Reminds me of the days when I was living near the sea." She said.

"It's lovelier during sunset," Rufus said, joining them. Cloud was walking after him.

Sora and Kairi turned around to see them. "Hey, dad! Hey President Rufus," Sora greeted cheerfully.

Rufus smiled slightly and nodded his head in greeting at Sora and Kairi. "Do you want to tour around Junon?" he asked.

"Well… I guess we could do that after we finish our business here." Sora explained.

They all arrived in Junon before midnight and they all went straight to bed. Sora shared a room with his dad while Rufus let Kairi just stay in Samara's room. Sephiroth has his own quarters since he is one of Rufus's officers from First Class Soldier. Squall and Seifer also got their own rooms in the guest hall.

While Kairi was inside Samara's room, she was not able to sleep at first because she thought she could feel her there. She decided to look around, studying the framed paintings on the wall. The framed paintings all seemed to have the same themes: sunsets, starry nights, dark forests with a well, and a woman with long black hair wearing white, and eyes that seemed to stare back at Kairi.

She also saw a photo album with pictures of Samara and the rest of the family.

Rufus turned to Cloud, "Well, your son sure knows how to interpret the saying _duty before leisure_." He said with a smug look on his face.

Cloud just stared back at Rufus.

"What is this part of the household anyway?" Kairi asked as she looked up at the ceiling of the balcony.

"Yeah, this house is so big… probably bigger than the one you have in Nibelheim, President Rufus," Sora said, looking at his surroundings.

Rufus flipped his hair. "Inside is the tearoom. This is the balcony of the tearoom. Come inside, we'll have some breakfast before we leave." He told them before leading the way inside.

Cloud motioned for Sora and Kairi to just follow. The two obeyed.

Rufus led the way to the dining area on the first floor. Seifer and Squall were already there.

"So who's coming with me?" Seifer asked Rufus the moment they stepped inside.

Rufus thought for a while before saying, "You'll go with Sephiroth. I'll be with Cloud, Squall, Kairi and Sora. We'll just go by foot… I guess…" he said.

"Go by foot? Are you joking?!" Cloud exclaimed.

Silence.

"It seems like rich kid here likes to experience walking around while the mercenary likes to ride the chopper. Are you sure you didn't switch personalities?" Seifer asked with a sarcastic tone.

Rufus just flipped his hair before he sat down, "Alright, I'll drive." He declared.

"You? Drive for them? You can let Squall drive your car." Seifer told him.

Rufus clenched his teeth and smiled sarcastically at him, "Look, Seifer, I'm paying you guys more than 5 million Gil just so that we could look for Samara and Kuja. So please, stop pestering me… otherwise I might change my mind." He declared with an impatient tone.

"Happy un-birthday, Wakka!!!" The party people screamed as the un-birthday boy entered the room. Or rather, Rikku, Tidus and Yuna did; the others just awkwardly mumbled along with them.

"Heheh! Thanks for coming, ya?" Wakka said, happily scanning his friends' faces. His eyes fell on Riku. "Wow, and an unexpected guest, too! Where'd you come from, brudda?" He approached Riku and ruffled his hair before Riku could avoid him.

"Hey, quit it!" Riku whined, pushing Wakka's hand away.

"Hey, fo'give me, ya? Haven't seen you for a while! Oh…" Wakka then noticed Samara. She stared back at him, her eyes frostier than ever. He felt chills going up his spine during eye-contact. "So… you didn't… introduce me to your friend here, ya?"

Samara, unblinking, only continued to stare at the tall man as Riku introduced her. "Oh! Her name's Samara. She and I… uh… we were traveling together and Rikku saw us on her way here. We thought we'd drop by, you know… and…" He trailed off when he saw how uncomfortable Wakka was getting.

Rikku, meanwhile was oblivious to what was happening to them. "Heehee! The poor kids haven't eaten for days! Since you're a big eater, Wakka, I thought you'd have tons of extra grub in your party!" she said gleefully.

"Eheh?! Days without grub?!! How the hell did you live, Riku?!" Tidus suddenly shouted, running up to Riku and jokingly shook him frantically.

"Quit it!!" Riku said uneasily. Samara broke her eye contact with Wakka upon hearing Tidus' voice.

Tidus noticed this and said with a silly smile, "Hiya! You may not know me, but Riku did quite some time ago… I'm Tidus!"

Samara replied plainly, "You remind me of my twin."

"Eeeheheheheheh! Cool!" Tidus jumped happily. Seeing him so happy reminded Samara of Theodore even more.

"Anyway, enough of that, let's get this party started!" Yuna piped up, suddenly switching on the sounds. Nauseating FFX-2 music blared out of the speakers, making Samara dizzier than ever.

A bit later, Samara was feeling better because she'd eaten the Jamaican patties that Wakka was very good at making. While getting punch, her ears couldn't help but eavesdrop on Tidus, Wakka, Rikku and Riku's conversation.

"So, Riku, where've ya been all this time? We missed you, ya?"

"Uh… I've been to places… here and there… but mainly, I moved in with my parents and sibs…"

"Heehee! You know, I missed you, not everyday I find somebody with the exact same name as me! Well, not exactly exact… Heehee! So… where's Kairi, huuuh?"

"K-Kairi? What do you mean…?"

"Ehehehe! Oh, you know who we're talking about! The pretty red-head that you and Sora happen to be always fighting over?..."

"Ya! Kairi, yeah, I remember! So, you finally lost to Sora? Heheheh!"

"Geez, Riku, I thought you'd get Kairi cuz you were always better than Sora! Oh well, I've always thought that she liked Sora better than you, anyway…"

"That always burned you up! Eheheheheheheheh—"

"Aw, shut up you guys! I… I don't like Kairi in that way anymore, you know?..."

"Oh, so you like Sora now! EEEEEW!"

"HEY! I…" Riku began, but he stopped when the lights suddenly fluctuated and the ground began to shake for few seconds.

"Oh my goodness! What's going on?!" Yuna cried out in surprise.

"Is there an earthquake?" Rikku asked in awe, holding on to a chair.

Silence.

"It… stopped…" Tidus had managed to say.

Silence.

"Whew… I'm glad it stopped." Rikku said with a look of relief on her face.

Silence.

"Anyway, as I was saying, Riku, maybe you'd get a much better girlfriend! Heehee!" Rikku said happily.

"She's not even my girlfriend in the first place!" Riku defended.

"But I thought you were his boyfriend!" Rikku nudged him teasingly while giggling hysterically.

Tidus and Wakka joined in the laughter when they saw the blushing Riku.

"Say, who'd you give the Paopu fruit to?" Tidus asked.

"Huh?" Riku asked.

Samara just focused her attention to one of the guests in the un-birthday party: LeBlanc. She was chatting with Yuna, Paine and Lulu in one corner as she continued to listen.

"Oh you know? Did you give it to Kairi?" Tidus asked.

The glass that LeBlanc was holding suddenly shattered, surprising everyone in the room when she screeched because the punch spilled onto her clothes.

Rikku, Tidus and Wakka didn't really pay much attention to LeBlanc, thinking she must've shattered it on purpose because of annoyance because they saw Nooj just seated in one corner like he's avoiding her or something… and began to tease Riku, "Riku and Kairi sittin' in a Paopu Tree. K-I-S-S-I…" The three stopped singing when they just felt sharp pains on their chests.

"Ow… what the…" Rikku reacted.

Riku's eyes widened upon seeing them cringing in pain and clutching their chests in excruciating pain. Realizing something, he instantly turned his gaze towards where Samara was, but she was already gone.

"Samara!" he called out with a worried look on his face.

Everyone fell silent.

The pain disappeared.

"Gee… must be heartburn." Wakka said.

"But… I swear I felt it in my heart, not in my stomach!" Tidus reacted in confusion.

            Samara just kept on running, her hands clenched into tight fists. She stopped running when she reached the shore outside the village. She was staring angrily at the ocean as she fell onto her knees with an angry look on her face. She was pounding on the sand angrily, punching it angrily.

Not satisfied, she decided to unwind the bandages around her hands, exposing her flesh. Her hands were still pale… but her nails had grown back. Next, she got up angrily and threw the bandages at the sea before she reached for her pocket and got the paopu fruit that Riku had given to her. Angrily, she threw it to the ground and stepped on it, crushing it. "STUPID CRUDDY THING!" she screamed, her voice echoing throughout the beach. A few seagulls flew away in fear.

She was panting heavily already… and she watched with an evil smile on her face as dead fish began to wash up to the shore, but she was interrupted when she heard Riku's voice calling for her name from afar. "Samara! Where are you?"

She instantly turned away and ran off, continuing her way… but she stopped when somebody just grabbed her from behind, a finely-manicured hand covering her mouth so that she wouldn't scream. She tried to squirm away but the person behind her was too strong.

Kuja laughed smugly, "Good girl… what's the matter? Having a bad day?" he asked with a sweet but sarcastic tone.

She used her elbow to hit his stomach, but it seemed like he was not even affected by it. He laughed at her. "Be a good girl, Samara. Cooperate with me and nothing bad will happen to you." He said with a soothing tone.

She narrowed her eyes and stopped moving.

"There, there. That's a good girl," he said as more than 200 Heartless appeared all around them. She eyed each of those curiously.

"Alright, go forth and do what I've told you. I'll be expecting results." Kuja commanded. The Heartless instantly turned into thin air. Samara assumed that they teleported somewhere to get rid of something… but she wasn't really sure.

"Teleport… teleport… teleport…" she was beginning to let her mind function on its own. And as she closed her eyes, she felt so light-headed…

Kuja's eyes widened when she just disappeared. "What?! What the…" he began, but froze when he saw Riku holding his keyblade and staring angrily at him.

"Okay, Kuja, what have you done to Samara?" Riku demanded.

Kuja just smiled calmly. "Oh, what ever do you mean by that, brother dear?" he asked with a singsong voice.

"Shut up!" Riku snapped.

Kuja stared at his younger brother for a while before laughing mockingly at him, "Hahahahaha! Don't tell me you are going to fight me? You can't even beat Dante or Skurai in a swordfight, do you think you can even beat me?" he teased as he came closer to Riku, strutting on his way.

Riku thought that Kuja looked funny while strutting, and he recalled Dante telling Kuja once, "You walk like a girl!" and then pushed him down a puddle of mud… and Kuja cried like a girl and nobody gave a damn except for Jill and Riku who tried to help him but he just pushed the two away.

"… After all I've done for you, saving you from Dante and Skurai… and taking the blame whenever it's your fault that something bad's going on so that daddy won't kick you out of the house… this is what you're doing?" Riku demanded.

"Life is unfair, brother dear… as much as Kairi's dad says so." Kuja replied as he flipped his hair and snapped his fingers.

Riku's eyes widened when around 50 Heartless appeared around them.

Kuja laughed mockingly at him. "You'll have to get through them first before you could fight with me, brother dear." He said.

"What did we ever do to you?!" Riku demanded in confusion.

"Oh it's easy… it's just that, daddy loves you more than he loves me." Kuja explained.

Riku's mouth dropped open upon hearing that.

"…and he also loves Dante, and Jilly, and Skurai… and mommy… but not me. I'm _always_ the bad guy around the family, huh? Only grandma and mommy appreciate me… but not daddy! But I don't recall doing anything bad, right? Here's a scenario: I'm sitting in the living room giving myself a manicure when Dante enters from a day's training and demands that I make him a sandwich. Then I refuse. And he tells dad. And dad gets mad at me!" Kuja continued with a frustrated and hurtful look on his face.

Riku raised an eyebrow. "Kuja, Dante also orders me around like that!" he reasoned.

"Hell yeah! But daddy doesn't get mad at you when you refuse! Oh, why oh why is my life like this!" Kuja said dramatically. It was Riku's signal that Kuja's guard was down, so he instantly charged at him, regardless of the Heartless coming at him. He swung his keyblade towards Kuja's bare abdomen, hoping to hurt him _really badly, _but then a force of some kind froze his action just before he hit Kuja… because he saw the crushed Paopu fruit on the sand. He gasped.

Kuja followed Riku's gaze and stared strangely at the crushed Paopu fruit. "What's that doing there?" he asked.

Silence.

The Heartless also became curious and looked.

Riku felt a lump in his throat. "She did that…" he thought as Kuja laughed out loud. "OH! Those Paopu things you're so obsessed about! So, the one true love that you gave it to… rejected you. How sad. HAHAHAHAH!!!! Reminds me of a soap opera that I was watching with Jill before I left home…"

Riku sniffed, but just kept his eyes on the crushed Paopu fruit.

Kuja rubbed his own chin with a pondering gaze, "Aha… who's the _unlucky_ girl? Is it Kairi?" he asked inquiringly.

Riku snapped and growled at him, "FOR THE LAST TIME!!!!!—." he stopped when Kuja slapped his face.

Silence. The Heartless gasped upon seeing that.

Riku froze.

Kuja sneered, "You are so pathetic!"

Riku dropped his keyblade and just jumped up at Kuja, strangling him. Defending himself, Kuja also tried to strangle his brother while trying to push him away from himself, and they were already busily fighting, rolling across the ocean, ending up in the middle of the ocean and trying to drown one another.

They just stopped when they saw all the Heartless floating on the air and staring down at them.

Kuja and Riku looked up at the Heartless.

The Heartless just charged at Kuja without any warning, leaving Riku in awe and confusion. "What the…" but it was a chance for him to get away, so he swam back to shore, panting hard as he finally got out of the water.

He picked up his keyblade, but when he got up again, he froze when he saw Samara standing before him, her hair covering her whole face and the crushed paopu fruit on her palms.

He stared unbelievably at her. "Sam… Samara…" he began.

She did not say anything. He does not even know whether she's looking at him or not. He did not even know how to start talking to her… but his thoughts were interrupted when he heard Kuja growl his name angrily. "RIKU!!!!!"

He instantly grabbed her hand and dragged her along with him, running away from the beach, deciding to go back to the village… but when they arrived there, he saw that the whole village was already burning.

He froze in terror and confusion. "NO!" his thoughts were screaming at him. He stared at the fire consuming the whole village with too much shock and denial in his eyes…

Samara slowly lifted her gaze up at the fire, but only one eye is exposed. She was about to say something but she stopped herself when he instantly grabbed her shoulders and shook her rather violently while demanding from her, "Why?! Why did you have to do this?!"

She stared in awe at him but she wasn't able to say anything.

His grip tightened on her shoulders, eventually hurting her. "YOU DIDN'T HAVE TO BURN THE WHOLE VILLAGE!" he shouted angrily at her. The anger in his bluegreen eyes made her heart sink as she bit her lower lip and tried to squirm away from him. "I… Riku… I… I didn't do it!" she stammered.

"STOP DENYING IT!"

"I AM NOT DENYING IT!!!" she screeched at him. "I didn't do it, okay?! I was just around the corner while you're fighting with Kuja! Be thankful that I decided to help you by controlling the minds of those Heartless and making them drown Kuja instead of you!" she snapped impatiently at him.

He just pushed her away from himself. Since she was not able to keep her balance, she fell backwards on the ground in a sitting position, the flames almost hitting her back and her arms.

Riku was about to leave her there, but he froze when several Heartless just emerged from the fire and surrounded them. It was at that moment when he realized that the Heartless were the ones who started the fire and not Samara.

He slowly looked back at her with horror in his eyes. "I…"

She just bowed down her head and slowly got up. "…it doesn't matter anymore…" she told him.

'We're gonna die…'

They just stared blankly at the fire, listening to the people screaming as some of them died in flames. Riku tried to block out all sounds so that he could concentrate on that horrible moment.

Then, a sound he can't avoid hearing came to his ears; the sound of a giant machine. And somebody's voice. "Riku! Samara! Over here!!!"

They both looked up in awe as an airship larger and definitely more high-tech than the Highwind floated in the sky, slowing towards them. Rikku was hanging by a rope ladder, reaching out her hand. "Come on, you guys! Before the fire and the Heartless reach you!"

Snapping out of his trance, Riku grabbed the rope ladder and climbed up. He saw out of the corner of his eye that Samara was having a hard time climbing up the ladder herself because she was weakened by using her 'gift' too much, but he didn't feel like helping her anymore.

He tried to avoid seeing Samara fall down hard on the sand.

"HEY?! What the hell are you doing, Riku?!" Tidus screamed above the noise and jumped off the airship. He managed to get Samara on the airship just before the Heartless started chewing on the ropes in an attempt to attack them both.

The airship was pretty quiet on the inside, but nobody noticed. Riku was panting as he tried to calm himself down. When he did manage to calm himself, though, Rikku slapped him on his cheek. Hard. "You idiot! You saw Samara collapse there! Why didn't you do something?!" she yelled. Riku flinched at her frantic, high-pitched voice.

"Hey, don't yell at me! I don't have to rescue her; she tried to kill me back there!" Riku yelled back angrily. "You don't know anything that happened…"

"Yes I know something! I heard you arguing! You blamed Samara for burning Besaid! How could you think that she'd do that?! She's not evil, she even tried to help you!"

"She wants everyone to suffer. Maybe it's hard for you to understand that, but it's a pretty clear message for me…" Riku mumbled.

Rikku shook her head in annoyance. "See, that's the point. She's a misunderstood girl, you know? She has a better reason for doing the things she does. You're the only one so far who's been able to understand her. Don't you understand? Samara needs you."

Yuna cut them off by clearing her throat. "Excuse me, you can fight later, but I need to heal Riku first. He's pretty beat up," she said calmly, and cast a cure spell on him.

Riku felt a lot less exhausted physically after the spell, but his mind was still in turmoil. Yuna sighed. "You know, Riku, Rikku's right. You better think about what she's said. She made perfect sense… this time," she added, and Rikku mumbled a "Hey!"

Riku just bowed down his head. "Hmf…" he grunted miserably.

"So where are we going?" he heard Nooj ask.

"Anywhere but here…" Lulu muttered with a miserable look on her face.

As Riku was trying to organize his thoughts, he heard a bald old man announce to the whole ship, "Okay people! Our next destination's Midgar! It's gonna be a long trip though, seeing as it's in another dimension! Ha-ha!!"

"Who's he?" he muttered for no reason at all.

Rikku suddenly switched her mood to a brighter one. "Oh, he's my dad, Cid. This is his airship. Like it? It's a pretty old machina, but it's still pretty. And reliable to boot."

Riku grunted in response. He thought through his next line carefully, "Say… where's Samara?"

She clapped her hands together in glee. "Aaaaw! You're gonna say sorry to her, aren't you?! Heehee! Too bad I don't know where she is. Ask Tidus…"

Riku face-faulted before he decided to just turn away and ignore everyone.

Tidus was staring strangely at him before whispering to Auron, Lulu, Rikku and Nooj, "He's starting to act like his dad…"

Nooj stared strangely at him, "Why? Who's his dad?" he asked.

"Only Sephiroth." Tidus replied.

Silence.

"WHAT?!" Rikku exclaimed.

Riku heard that and he silently began to wonder, "Gee… my dad really made a good reputation for himself… I wonder what he did…" he thought silently.

"Who's he?" Nooj asked curiously.

"GAWDS! You don't know Sephiroth?! He's the ultimate villain you could ever face! He's insane and he's like a psycho and he's…" she trailed off when she noticed Riku looking at her.

"Oh… sorry…" she mumbled sheepishly.

Riku turned away from her and just continued to sulk, contemplating about the things that had happened to himself…

"Riku," Rikku began, interrupting his thoughts. He did not move at first, pretending not to have heard her, but she still proceeded, "We're stopping over at one of the islands before we go to Midgar to gather some supplies and some food that we need."

He just stared at her and then looked away again. "Go away…" he muttered miserably.

She sighed heavily, "Alright… but you just stay here inside the airship while it's parked, okay? We'll all be going down. Just guard it, okay?" she asked before turning away.

Moments later, they landed on the island that Rikku was talking about. After everyone had gone out, Riku got up from his seat and began to roam around the airship with a deep frown on his face that just disappeared when he stumbled upon the area where Tidus had to put Samara. He saw that she was unconscious, breathing irregularly. And his heart just sank when he saw that she was still holding the crushed Paopu fruit in her hand. Turning away from her, he immediately left the airship, going down to the beach. He had never felt so disturbed in his entire life before… and he felt like going crazy already.

But he stopped himself when he realized that they had landed in a familiar place…

"… Destiny Island?" he asked out loud.

He remembered that the place had been destroyed by the Heartless the night he left the Island, but Kairi told him that it had been restored. He didn't believe her, though.

"I wonder…" He found himself retracing familiar steps towards the elevated part of land across the shack; the one where a bent Paopu Tree was planted.

"Man, I missed this place," he thought, leaning against the spot that he used to lean at. He sighed, pleased, reliving pleasant memories from the island. And just as he was thinking quietly, "Maybe I can take Samara here someday… or even show mommy this place! Yeah, she'll like it here! And even Jill… maybe she and Carlos can have a picnic under this tree… and Skurai… oh never mind Skurai, he might cut it down with his Talatsu. Oh, and maybe Dante could get some fruits and give them to Trish." A Paopu fruit fell on his head.

BONK!

"Ow!" he reacted in pain, rubbing the top of his head. He looked at the Paopu fruit that fell from the tree, bounced on his head and landed on the sand. "Hmm… a fresh one." He muttered as he picked it up and sniffed it. He smiled before looking up at the tree. "Thank you," he said, as if talking to it.

Another one fell, but he avoided it before it could hit his eye. "Hahah. Good one, Tree!" he cheered sarcastically before walking away and went back to the airship. He saw that everyone has returned already while he was gone.

"Oh there you are! We've been looking for you! Where have you been?" Tidus asked him.

Riku hid the Paopu fruit inside his pocket. "Just… looked for a bathroom." He fibbed.


	14. Chapter Thirteen

13 

            Ten days later, they finally arrived in Midgar.

"Geez, look at the size of this place!" Tidus said, a huge grin plastered on his face.

Paine frowned. "Eh. Not bad."

As Rikku, Cid and Brother argued over on where to land the airship, Riku stared excitedly at the city below him. "Wow… I'm home! I'm going to see mom and dad and Jill again! But, darnit, I'll see that Dante and Skurai again… For once, I wouldn't care… I'll be at my house again…" he thought, smiling.

His gaze fell on Samara. It seemed that she didn't care of what's happening around her. She stared blankly at the people animatedly talking to each other about exploring Midgar and whatnot. Seeing them, she bowed her head further, letting her face be covered by her jet-black curtains of hair.

Riku looked at her, concerned. "Hey," he called out. Samara looked over to him. "Do you want to come to my house once we land? It's on Sector 1. Mom's probably there, I think you'd like her."

She didn't respond. Cid was announcing something again.

"Okay, people, we're landing near this here large building here… seems they have a lot of room for an airship… and I think that the city's leader is in that building somewhere. So, me, Tidus, Yuna and Rikku will ask permission to stay here. Kimahri will guard this thing; the rest of you, go do whatever you want. If we don't get permission, we're leaving maybe for another area of this Planet. Understood?"

All of them nodded and went on their way. Riku walked over to Samara and grabbed her hand. She looked up at him curiously.

"C'mon. You have to walk once in a while…" Riku told her. She just stared at him quietly. He somewhat felt guilty because he still hasn't apologized to her. He placed his hands behind his back, feeling uncomfortable. "Uhm… look… I'm… sorry about…"

"It's alright." She said before turning around, going to the exit. "Let's go." She told him. He did not have to say anything; she could read it in his eyes.

When they walked out from the airship, Samara made sure that they were facing the other way from the building.

            "Hurry up! You're taking too long!!!" Lavinia snapped at Theodore.

"Eheh! Alright already! Why are you so excited to go to Costa del Sol?" he asked while dragging a big backpack full of toys along with him as he headed for the chopper.

She came nearer to her older brother, "Because the Turks are assigned to babysit us while we're taking our vacation there! We can torture them all we want! Heehee!" she whispered, not caring if the Turks were staring strangely (and somehow, rather fearfully) at them.

Then, they turned around when they noticed that some of the Soldiers were looking at one particular direction: at the airship.

"Which civilization do you think _that_ came from?" Theodore asked curiously while staring at the airship.

Lavinia made a face. "Who cares about that? Let's go. I want to go swimming already!" she said before dragging him along with her. Elena rushed to Theodore and took the bag of toys, "Here, Master Theodore, let me help you with that." She said cheerfully.

"Eheh! Thanks, Elena!" he replied happily… but froze when certain passersby caught his attention from the corner of his eye. He instantly turned to look at the two passersby. A boy with silver hair and the other one was a girl with long jet black hair. Theodore instantly gasped. "SAMARA!" he exclaimed.

But the girl did not seem to hear it.

Lavinia followed Theodore's gaze but did not see anything. "Where?" she asked.

Silence.

"You're hallucinating again, blondie!" Lavinia teased.

"I am not, _blondie_!" Theodore snapped.

"You've had too much sugar, _blondie_!" she snapped back.

"Oh yeah?"

"Yeah! And biting Mister Tseng yesterday made you blind!" she sneered.

"I'm telling mommy that you're calling me names!"

"I'm not calling you names! It's true that you're blonde, right? And I'm blonde too!" she said airily.

"Hey, hey, hey! Blondies. Stop that. Get in the chopper." Reno scolded impatiently as he interrupted them by waving his hand to catch their attention and grabbed their wrists, taking them inside the chopper.

"Argh! You redheaded nasty skeleton monster!" Lavinia argued angrily before biting his hand.

"AARGH!" Reno cried out in pain.

"Oh no! Somebody get her off Reno!" Tseng commanded.

Theodore just laughed happily, watching his sister's jaws locked on Reno's hand.

"Rude! Elena! Help!!! I'm gonna get rabies!" Reno exclaimed.

            Riku turned his attention to the commotion within the fences of the ShinRa building where a chopper was ready to take off. "Gee, I wonder what's going on in there…" he mumbled quietly.

Samara, oblivious to the activities going on around her, just continued to walk with him, keeping her head bowed down. "I can't sense mommy and daddy inside ShinRa right now… maybe I'll come back later…" she was thinking quietly.

A few minutes later, Riku stopped in his tracks and looked gleefully at the house they're in front of. "Hey, we're here already! Samara, let's go in!" With that, he ran in the house, dragging Samara along with him.

Unbeknownst to them, a few cameras were clicking and more media men were whispering to each other…

Riku looked around inside the living room. "Strange, I would think that Mom, Dante, Jill or Skurai would have been here… Oh well," he said, running up the stairs. "Make yourself comfortable here a while, Samara. I'll just get some of Dad's materia, we might have a use for them…"

Samara blinked as a response while Riku sped up the stairs. She looked around; the place was very homey and comfortable looking. Judging by the pictures hanging or standing here and there, two swordsmen, three gunslingers, a homosexual and Riku were the ones living in there…

"Strange family… I wonder who his mom is," Samara thought as she looked at a young, mahogany-haired woman's picture. "She's the only girl living here… and she's too young to be a mom…"

-Clack… clack-

Suddenly vigilant, Samara turned sharply to where the steps where coming from. A very tall man—about 6 feet—with long, jet-black hair, a metal arm holding a tray of tea and cookies, and clad in a red cape, was standing there, watching her. She eyed him suspiciously, but he smiled calmly.

"Oh, hello there. How did you get here?" he asked with a soothing tone as he set the tray down on the coffee table.

Samara felt like he could trust this man. Besides, he was one of the people she'd seen in the pictures. "Riku brought me here," she replied.

"Oh… Riku brought you here? May I ask for your name?" he asked, sitting down and motioning for her to sit down and drink the tea.

She obliged, and answered uneasily. "…. Samara."

He nodded. "I'm Vincent Valentine. I live here, as some sort of a guardian for Riku and his other siblings… And you? Do you have a surname? Or is it just Samara?" he asked, sipping his tea.

Samara stared at the tea in her cup, but suddenly didn't feel like drinking. She did not bother to answer the question, but before Vincent could ask her again, Riku arrived with a disappointed look on his face. He stopped in his tracks, "Oh. So you're here? Where are the others?" Riku asked.

Vincent smiled at him, "Dante's out on a date with Trish. Skurai is… acorn-hunting… while Jill's with Carlos. Don't tell your dad about the last one." He replied.

Riku just laughed, "I won't. So you've met Samara?" he asked.

Vincent turned to the little girl with a solemn smile on his face. "Yes. You never told me you have a girlfriend already, Riku," he remarked.

Riku just blushed and smiled shyly at him, "Well… no." was all he said. Samara just grabbed a cookie and threw it inside her mouth, chewing it while eyeing him suspiciously.

"Uhm… anyway… where's dad?" Riku asked, smiling weakly at Vincent.

"Your dad's with President Rufus. They're looking for the Presidential Daughter." Vincent explained.

Riku just shrugged and sat down beside Samara before getting himself a cookie. "Presidential Daughter?" he asked.

Samara almost choked when she heard that but reacted no further. She just grabbed her cup of tea and gulped down the contents without even paying attention to the scalding-hot liquid. Vincent and Riku stared in awe at her.

"Hey… careful. It's hot…" Vincent told her.

She put down the empty cup on the coffee table. "Thank you Mr. Valentine…"

Riku scratched his head. "Mister…" he trailed off when Vincent asked him, "Why are you looking for your dad?"

"I want to borrow some of his Materia. He taught me how to equip and use them some months ago when we first moved in here and I found those so useful… but I can't find them." Riku responded.

Vincent thought for a while before he got his own materia and handed them to Riku. "Here you go. Sephiroth took all of his materia with him." He explained.

"Why? Is he going on a battle?" Riku asked in awe while equipping the materia on his Keyblade.

Vincent touched his chin thoughtfully. "I'm not sure myself. Then again, he brings them everywhere, even if we're only eating out…" He stood up and handed Riku some bills. "If you're going to be traveling, you'll need cash. Fortunately, most worlds use Gil. You do have your own Munny, right?"

Riku just smiled rather sweetly at Vinny while nodding his head… it was the kind of smile that made Samara pour herself another cup of tea and drank it in one gulp again.

Vincent noticed her sudden action. "Well, you sure enjoy drinking tea, Samara," he remarked with a weak smile on his face.

She just nodded with a sweet smile on her face.

The smile made Vincent remember an old friend of his, but just shrugged off the thought before turning back to Riku, "Alright. I'll just go to the kitchen for a while. Are you staying for dinner?" he asked.

Before Riku could answer, the telephone began to ring. "Answer it for me, please." Vincent said before going to the kitchen.

Riku went to the phone and answered the phone, "Hello?"

"…Riku?" Sephiroth asked from the other line.

Riku's eyes widened. "DADDY!" he cheered before sitting down on the couch facing Samara. She stared strangely at him.

Sephiroth sounded so excited to hear from one of his _beloved_ children again. "When did you come back?" he asked.

"Just now. I'm with a friend… but we'll be leaving again. I'll help her search for some people." Riku explained.

"Oh… a girlfriend?" Sephiroth asked with a teasing tone.

Riku blushed again, "Dad?!" He reacted.

"Anyway, take your mobile phone with you so that I can keep in touch, okay?" Sephiroth asked.

"Do I have to? What if I fall into the water and get it wet and I destroy it again?" Riku asked.

"Just do as I tell you. Anyway…" Sephiroth continued to blab but Riku could hear somebody else talking in the background from where his father is, saying, "Hello? Tifa? Where are you? You're still in Nibelheim? Alright I'm going there after we drop by Midgar… yes, I'm with Sephiroth."

Riku switched his attention back to his father when he heard him say, "Do you understand?"

Riku just said, "Uhm… could you repeat it again?"

Sephiroth grunted in frustration before saying, "You're not listening! Just go talk to your mother. I have to go now… I'm driving." And hung up.

Riku heard the dial tone and shrugged before replacing the receiver on the phone.

"Man… I always hear that _Tifa _name. Who is she anyway?" he muttered to himself before turning to Samara, "So, shall we go?" he asked.

She stared at him for a while in total silence before asking, "Tifa?"

He shrugged. "Well, she's in Nibelheim… that's according to the other guy with dad." He replied.

She got up. "I want to go there." She declared.

Riku was surprised at her sudden enthusiasm. "Well… alright," he said, walking out of the house with Samara. Before he left, he waved good-bye to Vincent, who waved back.

"You're so close to your guardian, Riku," Samara said as they made their way towards the train station and the train that would take them to the lowest sector where the city's exit was.

Riku blinked. "Guardian?" he asked mindlessly.

"Mr. Valentine," Samara said plainly.

Riku gave her a confused face, but he replaced it with a knowing smile. "Oh… Samara… Vincent's more than my guardian, you know. You had me confused back there…"

Samara looked at him skeptically. "More than a guardian?"

"Yeah. More like a parent, actually," Riku said with a silly smile.

Samara frowned when she finally realized what he had meant… and she jaw-dropped. She instantly recalled one time when she had a check-up with this Doctor Lucrecia woman who's a friend of her dad and mom… and the doctor was having a hysteria attack. She scratched her head. "Never mind… I'll just keep quiet…" she thought to herself.

            Vincent was cleaning up the tea and cookies when the front door violently crashed against the wall and two tall men barged in just as violently. "Oh, hello Dante. Skurai."

"Hey," Dante and Skurai greeted in unison. "Cookies! Give Dante some!" Dante said, attacking the plate of leftover cookies that Vincent was supposedly going to clean up.

Vincent frowned, left the cookies to Dante and took the tea things to the kitchen.

Dante chewed on his cookies with satisfaction. He then noticed Skurai, who was sniffing the living room air. "What the hell's the wrong with you, acorn-boy?"

Skurai narrowed his eyes and continued sniffing. "Riku was here…" he said, taking another whiff. "With somebody else…"

Dante stood up and grinned. "Oh, really. I missed the little shrimp, I liked bullying him the most! Well, next to you and Jill and Kuja, that is. Heheh! I like his sammiches better than yours! Anyway…where is he?" he asked Vincent, who walked in the room.

"He left a while ago with a friend. I think he's going out of the city…" Vincent answered calmly.

"Who's headed out of the city?" bellowed a voice from the front door. The three of them turned towards the speaker, who was none other than Sephiroth himself. And a blonde man following behind.

"DAD!" Dante and Skurai cheered, hugging their father.

Vincent frowned, but his facial expression changed for the better when he saw a familiar face. "Oh, it's you. Rufus," he greeted, shaking his hand. "What brings you two here?"

Rufus sighed in slight annoyance. "The family man here," he said, pointing to Sephiroth, "forgot some important things. Like his wallet, cell phone charger and armor bangles. And a change of underwear, among all things…"

Sephiroth frowned and just mumbled, "Shut up…"

Vincent led Rufus into the living room. "Shall we sit down? I don't have anymore tea, though, and Dante just devoured all of the cookies…"

Rufus shook his head. "No, thank you, I'm good," he said, looking around the house. "The place is very homey. Not as large as any of my mansions or villas, but very nicely decorated…"

Vincent frowned at his remark of the size of the house, but smiled at the 'nicely decorated' part. "Why, thank you. The design's all my own creative genius…"

"Are you saying that my house isn't big enough?! That's why people call this _Valentine M-A-N-S-I-O-N!_ Doye!" Sephiroth snapped at Rufus.

Rufus just flipped his hair. "Yeah, yeah… whatever." And sat down on the couch.

Skurai eyed Sephiroth curiously, "Are we going poor, dad?" he asked.

Silence.

"No, we're not. I just don't like this rich guy saying snide remarks about our household income just because he's the President and owns the most powerful company in the entire Planet." Sephiroth turned around to face Rufus with a sneer, "You just wait, Rufus, once I release the four guardians of this Planet, you will _die_ again. But I'm sure you're tired of Diamond Weapon, huh? So who'd you like to try next? Ruby? Emerald…"

"I am not talking about household income, it was just a comment, Sephiroth." Rufus said before snapping his fingers at Vincent, "Make me a sammich." He commanded.

Dante smiled at Rufus. "Hey, I think I'd like to be his friend," he mumbled to Skurai.

Skurai just made a face. "Yeah…" he said sarcastically before rushing up the stairs.

Vincent frowned. "This isn't your mansion, Rufus. And I'm not going to the kitchen again to get some guest food; I just did a few moments ago with Riku and his friend."

Sephiroth raised an eyebrow. "Eh? Riku's friend? Sora was here again?"

Vincent shook his head. "No… it was a little girl named Samara."

Rufus' face fell. Sephiroth's eyes widened in surprise. "WHAT?!" the two of them yelled at Vincent in unison.

Vincent thought about how people in the house were lacking in manners, but then he noticed that there was a sense of urgency in their voices. "Riku was accompanying his friend, Samara somewhere… I think they're looking for someone—"

"What did Samara look like?" Rufus asked directly.

Vincent was a bit taken aback, but he replied, "Well… she had long black hair… has blue eyes, looks to be about 10 or 11… and she seems weakened, honestly… Why are you both so frantic?" he asked when he noticed Sephiroth and Rufus suddenly looking so excited but worried at the same time. Vincent frowned slightly before declaring, "She's a pretty girl, actually. When she smiled at me I almost thought she was a younger version of Tifa."

Silence.

"Oh I get it now!" Dante pointed out. "You were looking for this Samara girl all along! And she was here moments ago, but you came late… and now she's escaping somewhere with Riku! Isn't that funny?"

The three other people frowned at him.

"How sweet, dad… I mean, Riku just eloped with the President's daughter? Mwahahahahahaha!!!" Dante laughed hysterically.

Rufus just stared blankly at him while Sephiroth snapped impatiently, "DANTE, YOU'RE GROUNDED! GO TO YOUR ROOM!"

Dante stopped laughing and he almost choked. "What… what?!" he asked in annoyance.

"Uhm… Sephiroth, Dante is a grown man… you can't ground him anymore." Vincent pointed out.

"He's over eighteen, I suppose?" Rufus asked.

"I don't care. You are still living in my house so you'll abide by my rules, do you understand?" Sephiroth asked Dante.

Dante just stood still. "Yes, daddy." He muttered miserably.

Silence.

"Go to your room. You cannot see Trish for a month." Sephiroth declared.

Dante was about to react but Vincent cut him off by saying, "Just obey your father, Dante."

Dante shut his mouth before stomping his way up the stairs.

"Now, to a more important matter at hand," Rufus said, rubbing the space between his eyes. "Do you have a clue on where Riku and Samara might be headed to, Vincent?"

Vincent shook his head. "I'm sorry. But I think Samara is in good hands, if that's any consolation…"

Sephiroth grunted as Rufus answered, "That's not the point. It's important that we know where Samara is right at this moment…"

"Because Riku might be in danger by just being near her," Sephiroth said.

"Why?" Vincent asked.

"She's…" Rufus stopped himself. He just shook his head and got up, "It's not important. We'll just explain later on after this crisis is over. We also have to look for Kuja and Hojo." He explained before turning to Sephiroth. "Hurry up with your things,"

Without further ado, Sephiroth left Vincent and Rufus downstairs.

"I thought Cloud's with you?" Vincent asked.

"He's with Squall and his son… and Kairi." Rufus explained.

Silence.

"Kairi," Vincent repeated.

"Yes, Kairi." Rufus said.

Silence.

The two snickered.

"It's so unfair…" Rufus said airily.

Vincent just sat down. "Cloud's allowing Sora to be friends with Kairi… I can't believe it." He said.

"I wouldn't even let my own kids come near Sora." Rufus said.

"Why?" Vincent asked.

"Nothing… I just fear that Sora inherited his father's brain… and it's contagious." Rufus said.

Silence.

Rufus laughed. "I'm just joking, alright?" he turned to look at the family picture and his smile faded away. "You should've worn a gown." He pointed out.

Vincent raised an eyebrow as he twitched lightly. "Don't remind me… I hated that day…" he muttered miserably.

They heard the "Mwahahahaha" of Sephiroth echoing from the stairs and coming near them, plus heavy footsteps. "I'm ready!" he told them.

"Well, adieu to you two. I think you shouldn't waste anymore time," Vincent said, leading the way to the front door.

"Yes, he's right. Sephiroth, let's go," Rufus said as he stepped out of the house.

"All right already. Bye Vinny," Sephiroth said, waving to Vincent and running after Rufus.

Vincent looked at them blankly. "Right. Goodbye Sephiroth. Rufus. Good luck on finding Samara," he called out as he closed the door.

            "What do you mean, the President's not here? We have to ask permission to land… I mean, stay here in your city," Yuna told the man in charge.

The man called Reeve shook his head. "He has some other business to attend to… It's something very important and we can't bother him by contacting him," he replied.

"Oh, fishsticks…" Rikku said, pouting. Before Tidus could say anything, the door to Reeve's office crashed against the wall.

"Hey… who invited the freaks over, huh?" Seifer said arrogantly, eyeing Tidus, Yuna, Rikku and Cid one by one.

"Who are you calling freak, freak? … Oh, you're Seifer, Leon's friend, right?!" Tidus said, jumping up and down.

Seifer raised an eyebrow. "Why the hell did Squall pick such a gay name, anyway… Yeah, I'm Seifer. Who are you guys?"

"We're a bunch of people from another world… we just wanted to ask permission to stay in this city, because the airship's such a large obstruction and we're foreigners… I guess we have no choice for now but to get outta here…" Rikku said, kicking the ground.

"Okay… list this down, Yunie… we have to find Lulu, Auron, Wakka, Nooj, LeBlanc…" Tidus said, counting off the people with his fingers.

Seifer rolled his eyes. "Oh brother… they've brought the whole bunch with 'em…"

"Paine, Brother, Riku, Samara…"

Seifer and Reeve froze on the spot. "What?"

Tidus blinked before shrugging and saying, "Lulu, Auron, Wakka, Nooj…"

"No, you said that a Samara is with you?" Reeve asked uneasily.

Rikku nodded. "Yup! I don't think you know this Samara though. She's a pretty little 10-year-old girl with long black hair and blue eyes and telepathic powers!"

Seifer grunted. "Idiot. That's exactly the Samara we're looking for!" he was about to confront one of them face-to-face, but Reeve stopped him by holding up one hand. "Wait, Mr. Almasy, we can't be so sure. Did she tell you her last name?" he asked.

Yuna shook her head. "No… she doesn't want to tell us any details or anything." She said rather weakly.

"Jyah! You Urban Development Dork! What is the matter with you and your President?! Why can't you just tell everyone that his daughter is missing and stop the private investigations and searches?!" Seifer demanded impatiently.

"You don't understand, Mister Almasy. Miss Samara is… a very special child. We don't want other people knowing about what she can really do…"

"Aw, c'mon! Everybody knows she killed those media men before!" Seifer snapped.

Silence.

"Hey, I also heard that incident too… that it happened in this area…" Tidus began.

Reeve was shocked. "What?! But… I thought… we had it taken care of…" he trailed off when Seifer told him, "We also heard about it in Balamb, but it arrived in our place like another horror tale."

"Same here!" Rikku chimed in.

Silence.

Reeve smacked his own forehead in annoyance, "I knew it… word really went out even if it's not within Midgar…" he muttered miserably.

"No use hiding it from us now, sonny-boy. I guess, since we got some useful information after all, we can stay here, eh?" Cid said, nodding.

"Like where Samara and Riku had gone?" Seifer asked.

Yuna tried to remember the conversation she'd overheard. "Oh, Riku said he was taking Samara to his house…"

Seifer instantly turned to her, "Rufus and Sephiroth are going there before they left me here!" he told them.

"Oh so they left you here?" Tidus asked curiously.

"No, you wuss. Rufus asked me to stay here and monitor things for him." Seifer snapped impatiently. "Anyways, I guess they'd have a good idea now on where to go, at least… I wonder if those two are going to be fine…"

"Why are you so worried about the President?" Reeve asked.

"No, I'm talking about those kids. Now that a bunch of Heartless and that… Kuja's after them." Seifer said solemnly.

            Samara breathed a sigh of relief as the Nibelheim mountains came into view. At least she didn't have to hear Riku sing "Row row row your boat" anymore… (He kept singing it even though they got off the boat from Costa del Sol).

"Wow! We got here faster than I thought!" Riku said happily. "Hey, what's that?" he asked, pointing to a shiny blue car going into the town.

"That's a car, stupid," Samara replied bluntly.

Riku frowned. "I know that?! It's just kind of… uh… high-and-mighty looking, you know? Like it belonged to a rich guy."

As they entered the town, the shiny blue car screeched to a stop and reversed towards them. The two of them stopped in their tracks and are amazed to see Sora hop out of the passenger's seat and run into them. "REEEEKU! SAMAAAARA!" he yelled, jumping at them.

Samara avoided him, so Sora ended up crashing into Riku. "Hey, watch it!" he yelled at his very hyper friend.

Samara stared at the two of them, but her gaze moved towards the other three people coming out of the car: Kairi, Squall and a tall man with spiky blonde hair.

Kairi waved at them. The man, Cloud Strife, stopped some steps away from Samara.

She stared up at him, not breaking eye contact.

He suddenly spoke. "Samara… I didn't expect finding you here." He said in disbelief.

Samara just stared blankly at him.

Suddenly, she felt something evil in the air. "What…?"

Riku and Sora stopped babbling to each other. Cloud turned his face to the sky. "Do you sense that?..." Sora asked mindlessly.

Kairi, clueless, looked at them worriedly. "Huh? What's going on?..."

Cloud suddenly turned to the children and said, "You guys… get in the car. Quick!"

Squall frowned at him. "Why are you so panicky, Cloud?"

"Don't ask questions. Just do it," he practically commanded them.

Sora began running, dragging a skeptical Kairi along with him. Riku and Samara followed them. Before they could get to the car, however, a bright red flash of light appeared in the center of the town, just above the well…

"Bloody hell!" Squall yelled. The rest of them were too overwhelmed to move.

Some buildings caught fire. In the middle of it all was none other than…

"… Kuja," Riku growled under his breath.

Kuja smiled at the group rather mockingly. He giggled, then flipped his hair over his shoulders. "Oh, hello brother dear. I'm so glad we happened to meet at this quaint little town here…"

The townspeople were too busy screaming or staring in awe at Kuja. He frowned at them. "Stupid mice… It would be nice to kill you all, but me and my dear brother have some talking to do," he said as he floated towards Riku.

Riku instantly reached for his Keyblade's handle. "You disgust me…" he snarled.

Cloud took the opportunity to whisper to Kairi, "Once we fight, get yourself and Samara out of here…"   
Kairi looked up at him and nodded. She took Samara's hand and backed away a bit. Samara didn't react, but she continued glaring at Kuja. Cloud signaled Sora and Squall to ready their weapons.

Squall twitched when Kuja laughed a shrill laugh. "Ohohohoh! Well, isn't that charming… you have your friends with you! No doubt you'll try to protect them… in vain, of course," he added, looking over to Samara. "Though, they have the intention to fight me. This will be more interesting, then…"

"Quit talking!" Riku shouted as he jumped towards Kuja, keyblade ready to strike. Kuja looked at the weapon wearily and sent Riku flying back with a defensive spell. "How droll," he muttered. "Well, here I go…" Kuja started casting a new, fiery spell.

"Now!" Cloud yelled. He, Sora and Squall ran towards Kuja, weapons drawn. Kairi ran off towards the town's gates, dragging Samara with her.

Behind them, Samara heard the fighters' screams and Kuja's laughter. "Where are we going, Kairi?" she asked, no trace of worry or fear or any emotion in her voice.

Kairi was panicking already, confused as to where to go next. "Uh… Over there!" she said, pointing towards a random forest. Before Samara could complain, she yelled, "No time for questions now! Just get as far away from him as possible!"

            "Hwargh!" Sora yelled as he did Ars Arcanum, swinging his Keyblade wildly in the air. They all missed, however, because Kuja teleported out of harm's way. He laughed and cast a fire ball towards Sora.

Squall tried to attack Kuja from behind, but only ended up cutting a few strands of his hair. Kuja gasped and faced him angrily. "My beautiful silver locks! You will pay!" With that, a lot of Heartless creatures tackled Squall, making him hit the ground hard. "Oh, dammit!" he said, trying to wrestle the creatures off of him.

"The hell? Even in battle, you're still vain?! What if I break your French-manicured nails, huh?!" Riku taunted.

Kuja felt a vein popping on his forehead. "Shut up! As if you won't cry if I crush those horrid Paopu things you're so obsessed about! Maybe you'll even cry for Daddy!"

Riku growled at that remark. "Why you… you big gay transvestite… girly man!" he said, lunging forward to attack him.

Sora made a funny face. "Riku, I don't think this is the time for this kind of fight with your big brother, you know…"

"Shut up, short stuff! This isn't any of your business!" Kuja yelled as he singed Sora's hair with another spell.

Cloud face-faulted at their insult exchange. "Geez… Sephiroth needs to discipline them a bit…" he thought as he prepared to attack Kuja himself. He ran by Kuja's back and set himself up while Riku and Kuja yelled at each other.

"Mama's boy!"

"Drag Queen!"

"Monkey-boy!"

Riku gasped, "I am _not_ Zidane! Gurly-man!!!" he yelled angrily.

Kuja raised an eyebrow, "Oh… that's it? That's all you can say?! I'm used to that adjective! Mwahahahaha!" he laughed joyfully, but froze when Riku snapped at him, "You #$%!!!"

Silence.

Sora looked up at Cloud, "Daddy, what does #$% mean?" he asked.

"Doh!" Cloud cringed and turned immediately to his son. Squall has a weak smile on his face.

"Sora, don't ever say that F word again…" Cloud muttered.

"Why? What does that mean anyway?" Sora asked. Just when Cloud was about to answer, they heard Kuja snap back at Riku: "Midget!"

Riku winced at that remark. "Don't call me a midget… UGLY!"

This time, Kuja's mouth dropped open. The feathers on his head stood up at their ends. "You…. You… will pay…"

Before Riku knew it, Kuja was in his trance mode. His hair turned red, his monkey-like tail was exposed and he looked more sinister than before. He looked so psychotic that he was almost foaming at the mouth. "Call me anything but ugly, love," he said as he started mumbling words under his breath.

Squall gasped as he recognized those words. "Watch out! He's going to cast Ultima!"

Cloud tried disrupting the spell by back-attacking Kuja, but the force of the spell damaged him threw him back.

"Dad!... Oh crap! Riku, watch out for Kuja's spell!" Sora yelled as he ran over to his father, helping him up.

But Riku didn't move from his spot. The lights mesmerized him too much.

            _Don't look back_

Those words kept on coming back to Samara's mind. She continued to run with Kairi, leading to a place where they do not even know of.

"Where are we going?!" Samara asked her.

"I don't know! But we have to leave them for a while otherwise we might hurt ourselves!" Kairi replied with a troubled look on her face.

Samara kept on running, but she was sensing something… and she could even see it in her mind… and she could not stop it.

            Aerith looked outside the window of the ShinRa Mansion, suspicious of the surroundings. She had this worried look on her face.

"What's the matter, Aerith?" Tifa asked while surfing through the channels on TV.

"I… thought I heard Sora and Cloud… shouting…" Aerith replied.

Tifa just frowned. She could also sense something bad… and she thought she heard an explosion from outside, but just shrugged it off, thinking that it could've just been sound effects from a TV show while she's not looking… and she just froze when she realized that all the channels were just showing the same thing: blood splattered on a silver wall.

"What's wrong with this?" Tifa asked, letting go of the remote and got up from the couch.

Aerith and Yuffie instantly turned to her, observing the TV.

"Maybe Rufus declared Martial Law!" Yuffie gasped.

Silence.

"Why would he even declare martial law and flood all TV stations with this one? He doesn't even like silver!" Tifa stated flatly, but when she was about to switch off the TV, it turned into static.

The noise made them cringe, but she suddenly realized something. She gasped and turned towards the window. "Samara… she's somewhere near…" she thought silently before she proceeded outside.

"Tifa, where are you going?!" Aerith ran after her, followed by Yuffie.

As they continued to run, they could sense something bad just around the corner. Tifa decided to follow it, until she saw that most of the town was in flames. Strangely enough, there weren't many corpses scattered around, but then the scene was eerily familiar for her…

"god… not again…!" Tifa thought, slumping on the ground. Her eyes were wide in terror as she covered her mouth, several bad memories flooding her mind. "No… Samara cannot do this…" she finally thought. She just snapped out of her trance when she heard Aerith shriek, "CLOUD!!!"

She watched as Aerith went running to one particular direction just in front of her. Tifa did not even notice that Cloud, Sora, Riku and Squall were lying on the ground a few meters away from her because she was so preoccupied with the flames around her plus her own problems from the past… and when she saw Riku, the image from the TV came back to her: blood splattered on a silver wall. Riku's silver hair… and his blood…

Riku was the one who was badly injured from Kuja's attack… and he was really losing a lot of blood…

Yuffie was awestruck, seeing Sora like that. She instantly thought of her own daughter. "Oh no… GAWDS!!! Where… is… she…?" she thought, suddenly feeling dizzy… and she fainted.

Sora crawled towards the nearest conscious person: Aerith. "M-mom…" he strained himself to say. "We didn't… didn't stop that guy…" he struggled to say before he lost consciousness.

Aerith let go of the unconscious Cloud whom she was healing to turn to her ailing son. "Oh no… please… are you okay? Don't die…" she thought in worry.

Tifa just clutched her head in confusion, staring in horror at the scenario in front of her. All she could think of is her daughter… and what Hojo had told her once, "Your daughter is evil. She has to be stopped."

Several ShinRa soldiers arrived with several firemen.

A female second-class Soldier saw her and approached her immediately, "Ma'am! What are you doing here? Does President Rufus know this?" she asked in worry.

Tifa just screamed.


	15. Chapter Fourteen

14 

            Samara looked back when she thought she heard a familiar-sounding scream. She stopped running and just stood still, staring into the empty space before her.

Kairi stopped running and went back to her, "Samara, let's go!" she said frantically as she grabbed her wrist, but Samara pulled her wrist away from her. Kairi was already panting very hard even as she stared curiously at her. "Samara… what's wrong?" she asked.

"Didn't you hear it?" Samara asked with worry in her eyes. For the first time, Kairi saw fear in the little girl's eyes… and tears were beginning to fall too.

Kairi just shook her head in confusion. "N…no… what did you hear?" she asked softly.

Samara just kept quiet, refusing to answer the question. She does not want to scare her anyway. Slowly, she turned around, facing her, then looking past her. She saw that they were already in a beach-like area… and tall mountains were also near the area. "Let's just… go… up there." She said, referring to the mountains, not really wanting to go further near the ocean water.

Kairi stared in awe at the tall mountains. "What?" she asked in confusion.

"It's the only place where Kuja cannot find us… at least maybe try to avoid him sensing our auras and energies." Samara explained.

"A-are you sure there's something beyond those mountains? What if we get lost?" Kairi asked worriedly.

"We won't." Samara answered before she led the way.

Kairi hesitated for a while. She really felt worried and afraid of their current situation because she did not really know what to do. Biting her lower lip and swallowing hard, she ran after Samara and walked with her towards the mountains.

They started climbing up the mountain, and to Kairi's amazement, it seemed easy for Samara to climb up; holding on to rocks and branches. She also seemed to know where to pass.

"Where did you learn to climb?" Kairi asked with a smile on her face.

Samara did not answer. She just continued to climb up the mountain, trying to shrug off the memories from the time when she was inside the well.

More rocks. More branches. There were a lot of moments when Kairi almost slipped and fell to her death, but some force stopped her from doing so. Before she knew it, the climb was already over.

"We're here. Told you we won't get lost." Samara declared with a smug look on her face.

Kairi was panting heavily, wanting to drink some water but could find no single trace of it in the place where they ended up. "This is… a cave…" she said flatly.

Samara looked up at the cave's high ceiling but could not see well because it was already beginning to get dark. The sun was already setting and it was creating an orangey-effect on everything she's seeing. "Do you know how to cast a fire spell?" Samara asked.

Kairi's eyes widened. "What?" she asked.

"Never mind…" Samara muttered, able to read Kairi's mind that she doesn't know any magic. Slowly, she led the way further inside the cave. Kairi could hear bats above them and she could not see well anymore. "Uhm… Samara… where are we going?" she asked with a trembling tone.

Samara did not answer but she started to hurry up, going to a place where there was only little light coming from the setting sun outside. She began to search the whole area for sticks and stones and quickly gathered them. She tried to remember what Riku had done in the beach seven days after they had jumped off from Balamb Garden.

She began to rub the sticks together. "Kairi, help me here," she told her.

Kairi felt somewhat relieved upon realizing what Samara was doing and instantly came to her aid. She began to rub the stones together.

            _"Call me anything but ugly, love…" _

(He's been hit by destructive magic…)

_"Riku, watch out for his spell!" _

(… lost a lot of his blood… might need transfusion…)

_"… splattered blood on a silver wall…" _

(… already found the other injured people: Cloud Strife… Sora … Squall Leonhart.)

_"CLOUD!"_

_"… Where… is… she?" _

_"… don't die…" _

( …the first Lady and her companions?...)

_"Ma'am!__ What are you doing here?!?!" _

(How long is he gonna be confined?)

_"Don't you dare die on me, Riku… I won't ever forgive you." _

All he saw first was a very blurred white light before he felt his eyes blinking. He groaned; his head was aching so badly…

"Hey, Dad, I think Riku's waking up."

"Sora?" he thought, his memory clearing up finally.

From his right side, he saw Sora's face peek at him. "Hey buddy! You finally woke up!"

Riku tried to fight his grogginess and tried to speak clearly. "Where… are… we?"

"ShinRa Mansion," Sora answered. "The medics brought us here instead of the hospital. Special request from the President. At least, that's how Dad explained it to me."

Riku blinked rapidly. "ShinRa… ShinRa? What do you mean, ShinRa Mansion?"

Sora shrugged. "Didn't you know? President Rufus ShinRa's dad had a mansion here, but when it started crumbling, he repaired it and here we are now. That's what you can do with influence and a lotta money, you know…"

"ShinRa?!" Wasn't that Samara's last name? Riku thought, bewildered.

Sora looked at him irritably. "Yeah… ShinRa! As in, the most powerful family in Midgar! Whom the huge electric company in Sector 1 is named after! C'mon, Riku, stop that, my head's aching too, you know," he said with a sarcastic tone.

"No! I mean it! Samara admitted to me that her last name is ShinRa! And it's even engraved in the pendant that she's wearing… the one inside the box that I just gave to her!" Riku snapped impatiently.

Cloud instantly turned his attention to Riku, "Okay, that's enough. Stop bombarding Sora with things like that, Riku. You both need to rest."

Riku instantly got out of bed and rushed to Cloud, grabbing his arms and shaking him rather violently, "But Mister Strife! Kuja is out to get her! I need to know where she is!" he said rather hysterically, his blue-green eyes were reflecting too much confusion and… hints of insanity that Cloud had seen before in Sephiroth's eyes.

"Calm down, Riku. Just lie down there and relax. You're the one who suffered the most when Kuja cast Ultima." Cloud said with a confused look on his face, not really knowing how to deal with Sephiroth's son who's in the verge of having a nervous breakdown. "Hmm… probably runs in their family…" Cloud thought silently.

Riku let go of Cloud and clutched his own head rather tightly. "Oh no… what if… what if something bad's happening to Samara already? And I swore to always protect her and… NOOOOO!!!!!" he collapsed on the floor, crying.

"Hey," Sora and Cloud instantly came to his aid, trying to help him up.

From the doorway, they did not even notice that Tifa and Squall were standing there quietly, watching them.

Tifa was covering her mouth while trying to fight back her tears.

Squall just stared blankly at Riku, Cloud and Sora before bowing down his head in shared grief, even though he was not really saying anything and his eyes appeared to be blank.

"Excuse me, I think I need to get inside," a woman's voice from behind them said softly.

Tifa and Squall turned around and saw Lucrecia holding a syringe. Tifa stepped aside to let her in.

Lucrecia smiled calmly at Tifa and patted her shoulder gently, "Don't worry about your daughter, Tifa. I'm sure she's alright." She said softly before proceeding to Riku. "Okay, dear, calm down unless you want me to call your dad and make him come here and give you a sermon about girls!" she said with a stern tone.

Riku stared in awe at Lucrecia. "G…granny?" he asked softly as she began to inject a tranquilizer into his veins.

Lucrecia just smiled at him, "Good night, darling." She said softly.

Riku stopped struggling after a few seconds and then he lost consciousness. Cloud motioned for Squall to help him carry the boy back to the bed.

As Lucrecia readied the blanket, they heard Tifa try to hold back a sob from the doorway. They all turned to her curiously.

Sora stared curiously at her before smiling, "Oh… so you're Samara's mommy. It's so nice to meet you, ma'am." He said as he approached her.

Tifa just smiled bitterly at him. She nodded weakly before letting her tears fall.

Sora tried his best to give her a reassuring smile. "Don't worry! Dad sent Kairi to take care of Samara; I'm pretty sure they're both fine! They're both pretty strong for a couple of girls…" he said, hoping to make Tifa stop crying because he felt guilty.

Tifa covered her mouth, tears still flowing. "I… no, Sora, I know that… it's about something… else…"

"Teef…" Cloud started. Tifa looked at him. "Don't worry. This wasn't Samara's fault."

She stopped her hicupps for a while. "… what?"

"Kuja was the one who caused the fire. It happened when he cast Ultima… and he just left us there… like it's a set-up… so that people would blame us for it." Squall explained with a serious look on his face.

Tifa's eyes widened. "That Kuja has gone too far! What does he want anyway?!" she demanded in annoyance.

"He wants your daughter." Lucrecia replied with a weak tone. All eyes turned to her before she smiled sadly and proceeded with a trembling tone, "Miss Samara has… abilities that nobody else has… she has powerful mind control. What Kuja needs is that kind of control because he doesn't like to use the reactors. In short, Samara will serve as a human Mako reactor so that he could make use of the Mako energy for himself."

Sora grunted and scratched his head, "Grrr… that Kuja…" he muttered miserably before looking up at Tifa again with a sorry look on his face, "Ma'am… I'm sorry… if I had known that Samara is your daughter, I could've returned her to you. But… she wouldn't tell us the truth… and probably Riku doesn't even know about ShinRa in the first place because… Riku and I grew up in another place." He said apologetically.

Tifa smiled kindly at him, "It's alright, Sora… I understand…" she said softly.

"But ma'am, I hope that the information that I know could help you determine who did those things to Samara." He continued.

She blinked. "Those things?" she asked.

Sora nodded before he sat down on one of the chairs, "You see, when we first found Samara, she was inside the well with Riku. Riku said that somebody knocked him out with a shovel and then pushed him inside the well… then he saw that Samara was already inside when he woke up… Anyways, me and Kairi were lost at that time, and we tried helping them out, but we couldn't do it by ourselves… so Mr. Highwind helped us out. Afterwards, he and his wife gave us a place to stay…"

"So, we tried talking to Samara because she looked really bad, you know, to find out who did all that morbid stuff to her. She said that this guy called 'The Doctor' did all that to her. She just doesn't wanna do anything bad to The Doctor because she's afraid that he'll kill her parents… She also said that she loves her parents very much, but then she was told that they hate her. She also told us that her parents hate her because she killed those who tried ruining her father's reputation once…"

Tifa felt really dizzy and overwhelmed as she listened to Samara's thoughts through Sora. "Wh… what? She thinks that? But… why?" she choked out, trying not to cry hysterically at that moment.

Sora turned solemn. "I'm pretty sure it's The Doctor's fault. It seemed really wrong that people like you would think of Samara that way, right?"

Lucrecia turned to Sora after thinking on her own for a while. "Sora… did she tell you anything else about this… Doctor?"

He replayed Samara's words during that hour. "He forced Samara to do twisted stuff with her powers… when she made him really angry, he injected poison in her bloodstream and trapped her in the well. She won't tell us anymore about the Doctor 'cause she's afraid that he'll kill her family once we knew…"

"Hmm… this doesn't tell us much about this Doctor…" Squall uttered thoughtfully.

Cloud sighed and turned to Sora. "Anything else?"

Sora shook his head. "Sorry, Dad. That's all I remember. Maybe Riku knows more…"

He shook his head. "I don't think we should ask him anything about Samara… yet…" he cautiously said, looking towards Riku who was in deep sleep already.

Lucrecia just looked down, many thoughts considered in her mind. After a few moments, she stepped towards Tifa, who started breaking down into more tears, to try and console her.

"Once I get that… that Doctor who put those thoughts in Samara's head… I'll… I'll send him to hell immediately…" Tifa sobbed, her weak voice muffled by Lucrecia's shoulder.

"Don't worry, my lady. We'll do it together…" Lucrecia thought, the suspect in mind.

"Do you have any… suspects, Dr. Valentine?" asked Squall, noticing that her facial expression changed.

Lucrecia inhaled sharply. "As a matter of fact, Mr. Leonhart… I know of only one person vile enough to do these things… and I suspect that he also has something to do with Kuja…"

"Who?" Cloud asked, looking curiously at her.

"Dr. Hojo." She pointed out with a despiteful look in her face.

They all fell silent.

"But… but why would he even try to hurt Riku?" Sora asked.

"Because Riku is Sephiroth's son. I know Hojo… I've seen his plans in his PC before President Rufus fired him… he wants to kill all of Sephiroth's children because he hated Sephiroth for abandoning him… It's like… revenge… and he thinks that one Sephiroth is enough…" she explained.

"Why? What did Sephiroth do to him?" Squall asked curiously.

"Well… it's more of like… Hojo disowned Sephiroth because… Sephiroth loves… this…" Lucrecia hesitated for a while.

Tifa and Cloud were staring at her… Squall knew that the two knew the story but just decided to shut up about it.

Lucrecia inhaled sharply again and then smiled calmly at Squall, "Well… Sephiroth fell in-love with… one of Hojo's former rivals… so he disowned him…" she explained, her voice shaking and she almost choked with the last word.

Silence.

Tifa just smiled cheerfully at Lucrecia, "Well, well, that's enough. Calm down." She said, going to her and then patting her back.

Cloud just bit his lower lip before turning to Sora. Sora stared up curiously at his dad. "Dad, you are smiling. What's so funny?" he asked.

Cloud raised an eyebrow.

Sora pointed at him suspiciously, "Dad, you're trying to stifle a smile. What is wrong?" he asked.

Lucrecia turned back to Squall with a sad smile on her face, "You… look like my Vinny from before…choke" she began to cry and covered her face with her hands.

"I'll just… take her outside for some fresh air." Tifa told them with a weak smile on her face before leading the way outside, leaving Squall and Sora so clueless.

"What's wrong with her?" Squall asked Cloud.

"It's… nothing." Cloud fibbed before turning away. "But anyway, it's hard to be sane when you're a scientist… so she snaps every now and then…" he explained with an unsure tone as he approached the window.

Squall thought for a while before shrugging. "Well maybe we should all watch out for Doctor Kadowaki, then," he said, meaning for it to be a joke.

They were interrupted when Aerith entered carrying a basin of water. "Is everything alright? I saw Tifa and Lucrecia heading outside. Lucrecia's crying again." She said as she closed the door and approached Riku.

"Yeah… everything's alright… just some… bad memories from Lucrecia's head… if you know what I mean," Cloud explained with a silly smile on his face.

Aerith just smiled weakly. "I see…" she said, trying to stop herself from giggling.

Squall frowned at them, "Do you guys mind telling me about it?" he asked curiously.

"Nah… you might get culture-shock… especially since you and your Garden fellows are going to be hanging around our place for a long time." Cloud explained with a blunt smile on his face.

            Kairi shivered lightly because of the cold wind inside the cave. "Brr… it's too cold in here… aren't you cold, Samara?" she asked weakly.

Samara just stared blankly at the fire, her face being framed by her long black hair. She was used to the coldness, so why bother knowing if it is cold or not? At least that's what she's thinking about before turning to Kairi when she heard another question from her, "Aren't you hungry?"

Samara thought for a while before pulling out the Paopu fruit from her pocket, "You can eat this if you want to." She said.

Kairi's eyes widened in shock. "Oh my GAWD! Where did you get that?" she asked in surprise.

"Riku gave it to me." Samara replied with an expressionless look on her face.

Kairi smiled happily, "Samara, that is not meant to be eaten!" she told her.

"Why?" Samara asked.

"… but if you have to eat it, you have to share it with someone else." Kairi elaborated.

"So then we'll share it." Samara said, ready to break it into two.

Kairi jumped to her and stopped her hand, "No! Don't!" she said.

Samara stared unbelievably at her. "Why not?!" she asked in annoyance.

"Didn't Riku tell you anything about it?" Kairi asked with a frantic look on her face.

Samara was quiet for a while before saying, "N…no…"

Kairi sighed in disappointment before sitting down before her with a cheerful smile on her face as she carefully pulled out another Paopu fruit from her pocket and showed it proudly to Samara.

Samara stared unbelievably at it. "You… have one too?" she asked as she felt her heart sinking while thinking quietly, "RIKU GAVE HER ONE?!?!?"

Kairi giggled happily as a slight blush formed on her cheeks, "Sora gave this to me." She told her.

Samara calmed down. "Oh that's good to hear…" she muttered.

"What?" Kairi asked, unable to understand what she had just muttered.

"Oh nothing… uhm… what is it about the Paopu fruit anyway?" Samara asked curiously.

"See, there's a legend about this… If two people share one, their destinies become intertwined… They'll remain a part of each other's lives… no matter what," Kairi said, staring at Sora's gift in her hand.

Samara noted Kairi's lovestruck look and looked at her own Paopu fruit. "… but… that's just a legend, right?" she asked, skeptical about the whole thing. Besides sounding silly and old-fashioned, she'd rather disregard islandic legends like that than starve to death.

Kairi shook her head. "I believe in it. If it were true, do you want our destinies intertwined together? I'd think that would be awkward, you know?" she asked.

Samara bowed down. "… I guess so… who told you these things anyway?"

"Riku did," Kairi answered.

Thoughts suddenly sprang in Samara's mind. "Riku gave me this… he didn't tell me to share it with him… did he want to be a part of my life too? Why would he do that? He barely knew me, then…"

Kairi was beginning to be uncomfortable during Samara's silent moments. "Uhurm… so… back to our crisis…" she stammered.

Samara stood up. "… There's a salt water lagoon outside. Maybe we could catch some fish."

"But…we don't have any bait…" Kairi said.

"Oh believe me… we don't need any bait to catch fish." Samara said with a wink before she got up.

Kairi followed after her and they both walked together going to a salt-water lagoon outside. There were several fish in it, swimming happily.

Samara just stared at the water for a few moments, but did not say anything.

Kairi was wondering what she was doing. "Well?" she asked.

Silence.

"Don't tell me we're using a Paopu fruit as bait?" Kairi asked in confusion.

"No." Samara replied.

Before Kairi could say something else, six fishes began to jump out of the water and landed before them on the ground. Kairi's mouth dropped open. "Oh my GAWD!!!!! How did you do that?" she asked in awe.

Samara just smiled. "It's all in the mind," she said with a wink before picking up her share of three fish. Kairi picked up hers and then they headed back to their bonfire. Kairi tried to recall how her mother tried to gut and clean the fish; luckily she was successful in doing so, and in a few moments, they were already cooking the fish.

While waiting for the fish to cook, Kairi turned to her. "Thanks, Samara." She said.

Samara looked at her curiously. Kairi just smiled sweetly, "I'm so glad that you're here… if I was alone here, I'd probably get lost and wouldn't know what to do." She said.

Samara just looked away and bowed down her head, her hair covering her face.

Kairi leaned back against one of the big rocks behind her and sighed heavily. "You know, it's kinda funny… I'm supposed to be the one to save you… to take care of you! Since I'm older… well, you know… and now, look at us! It's basically you who is trying to keep me alive by catching fish so that we could both eat." She told her frankly with a weak smile on her face. She felt really awkward because of Samara's silence.

Samara just brought her knees closer to her chest and hugged them, resting her chin on them. She narrowed her eyes at the fire. "Kairi," she began.

"Hmm?" Kairi responded with a cheerful smile on her face while thinking silently, "Finally! She said something! … oh but I hope it's not something complicated for me to understand… I know how smart she is… and…" she stopped her thoughts when Samara said, "Did… something… Riku… about… the….two of you… going on…" she stammered, suddenly confused.

Even though the words were mixed up, Kairi was able to understand it, "What made you think of that anyway?" she asked curiously.

Samara did not answer at first, but she gathered up enough guts to say, "I… overheard Tidus and his friends discussing about it with Riku… and…" she stopped talking all of a sudden.

"Oh. That." She suddenly giggled. Samara frowned at her. "Oh… sorry. It's just with Tidus, Wakka and Selphie… back on the island. You see, Sora and Riku always considered each other a rival… and when they challenge each other to a swordsfight or a race or something, Riku always won… so the three of them thought that he's the winner, he'll get me. But… I've always thought of him as waay older than me, even though we're just a year apart, you know?" Kairi explained with a sweet smile on her face.

Samara was just quiet, her eyes showing wonder.

Kairi blushed again and got her own Paopu fruit, staring at it like she was ready to swoon. "Just between you and me, Samara… but… I've always… loved… Sora…" she admitted.

Silence.

Samara just raised her eyebrows at her. "Love?" she asked curiously, as if she does not know about it.

Kairi nodded. "I… I know it's confusing at first but… it's like… okay, to make it easier for you to understand it… I like Sora… but it's… like… I treat him like… he's so special to me and all I want to do is to be with him and make him happy." She explained, her face reddening more and more at each word. Suddenly the cold air did not seem to affect her anymore.

Samara just snorted. "Oh well… I understand… I think…" she muttered miserably before she got her Paopu fruit. Her thoughts were interrupted when Kairi decided to ask, "What happened to you and Riku anyway?"

When Samara didn't answer immediately, she hastily added, "That is, if you wanna elaborate, of course.. Eheh…"

Samara narrowed her eyes at her before starting. "I tried to kill him…"

Kairi's mouth dropped open, shocked. She felt so speechless and she did not know how to begin. Is Samara really _that_ ruthless just like her father?

But Kairi stopped her own thoughts when she heard Samara continue, "…but decided that he's way too important to me so I let him live. After all, he's one of the few who could understand me."

Kairi noted the shy smile on Samara's face when she said that.

They were silent for a few moments before Kairi told her with a reassuring smile, "It's just between us girls, don't worry." She said.

Samara just smiled. "Thank you."


	16. Chapter Fifteen

15 

            "Give that back!" Lavinia shrieked angrily at Reno's ear, leaving him stunned.

"Nuh-uh! Not until you apologize to the boss for biting him again! And not until you two tell us where ya hid the booze!" Reno yelled back, holding the teddy bear out of Lavinia's reach.

"No! You and Rude are going to get drunk again! You'll probably vomit while telling Theodore his bedtime story!" Lavinia snapped.

"Alright, alright! What's so important about this bear anyway?" Reno asked in annoyance.

"That isn't even mine! I was just borrowing it from Samzy!" Lavinia exclaimed, trying to jump up to Reno and grab the teddy bear, but she was still short.

"Reno, just give Miss Lavinia the bear. My hand is… fine now… ouch…" Tseng commanded with a glum look on his face while continuing to wrap bandages around his sore right hand.

"Yeah, yeah. Okay, Lavinia, let's go to sleep now. It's waaaay past your bedtime." Reno said, scooping up the little girl in his arms and carrying her back to her bed.

Lavinia sneered at him when he dropped her on the soft bed. "How come you Turks are the ones who are assigned to babysit us and guard us while we're here in Costa del Sol taking a vacation?" she asked rather airily.

"Because we're the only ones available. And if you think that I'm enjoying this, _I am not_." Reno snapped impatiently before handing her the teddy bear and sat down on the couch by the bed, smiling gently at her, "There you go, Miss ShinRa. Now, good night, sleep tight; don't let the bed bugs bite!" he teased as he patted her head playfully.

She frowned at him before hugging the teddy bear tightly and looked away with a disappointed blank stare. "I miss Samara…" she said softly.

Reno thought for a while before saying, "We all miss her, Miss ShinRa." He said rather fakely.

"No you don't." she said.

Tseng got up from the small kiddie stool where he was seated, finally finished with the bandages, "Alright, that's enough." He told her sternly.

"You know, you stupid Turks are lucky because since we ShinRa Bratlings enjoy making your lives a miserable hell, we're not telling daddy and mommy how much you insult us! Heeheehee!" Lavinia snapped at them.

"Oh so you are completely aware that you are a ShinRa Bratling? That's so smart of you!" Tseng said sarcastically.

"Are you aware that this conversation's being recorded?" Lavinia asked.

Silence.

Then, they heard the sound of a tape being rewinded and then they heard Tseng's voice again, saying his last sentence.

"Ehehehehe!" Theodore popped out from under the bed, which really surprised Tseng and Reno, causing them to jump up in shock. "Nice going, Mr. Tseng!" he said smugly.

Tseng tried to control his temper, but he ended up having to leave the room to cuss in Wutaian. Reno tried to stop his headache and told them, "Fine, ya got us good. _Now _will you go to sleep?!"

Lavinia stuck out her tongue. "Not yet, Mr. Reno. Theodore has to upload this on the Net first. You might destroy the tape while we sleep, after all." She said.

Reno frowned at her. "Damn… this little girl is worse than her father…" he thought miserably before smiling cheerfully at her, "Tell me… how come _you_ hate me, Mister Rude and Mister Tseng? AND YOU ARE NOT DOING ANYTHING TO ELENA?!?!?" he demanded impatiently.

"Ehehehehehe! Simple logic…" Theodore turned to Lavinia and the two exchanged dull looks before their faces lightened up and they both said in unison, "DUH!" and they both giggled before turning back to Reno. "She's a good lady!" Lavinia pointed out.

"And the three of you are Turkeys." Theodore said before flipping his hair and then laughed out loud.

Reno and Tseng stared dumbfoundedly at the little boy. "Thank you, we appreciate the remark." The latter said before picking up the little boy and dragging him out of the room. Theodore was not even protesting; he just kept on laughing even as they finally got out of Lavinia's bedroom.

Reno went over to the main lightswitch by the door and was about to turn out the lights when Lavinia spoke up again, "Mister Reno,"

He turned to her with a curious look on his face. She sounded like she was going to ask a very important question.

She had this worried look on her face. "I'm worried about Samara…" she said sadly.

He thought for a while before approaching her again. He sat down on the bed and just stared inquiringly at her as she continued, "Haven't you found any trace of her yet?" she asked.

He thought for a while before smiling calmly at her, "Okay, girl. Sleep now. Stop thinking about your wicked sister. She's going to be alright." He said, meaning it as a joke.

She just smiled sadly at him. "You think so?" she asked.

"Yeah. And don't worry. You're not the only one worried about her. Even though she's also your sidekick in making the Turks' lives miserable, I still care about her." He admitted with a sad but hesitant look on his face.

She widened her eyes at him, "Awww, Mister Reno, that's so sweet of you!!!" she hugged him. "You're my favorite nanny." She said sweetly.

He made a disgusted face as he stared down at her, "Yeah, yeah, whatever. Cut out the mush. Now, go to sleep." He told her before he got up.

He switched off the lights and opened the door, but before he stepped out of the room, Lavinia spoke up again, "Mister Reno!"

He stopped and turned to her despite the darkness of the room. "Yeah?" he asked.

"Please keep guard." She said softly.

He wondered why she had to say that. Of course he wouldn't leave his post and would even stay up all night guarding the whole ShinRa Villa with the rest of the Turks so that they wouldn't get a salary deduction from the President. He just smiled discreetly before stepping out of the room, not even bothering to answer to her.

            Kairi and Samara spent the next few hours together just talking about one another and sharing different stories about their lives. The former was relieved that the latter was already beginning to feel at ease with her. She's happy that she has found a new friend… and it happens to be a girl just like herself… someone who'd understand her girly mind.

"We actually have houses and suites in different areas of this Planet, but the main base is in Midgar. My most favorite place is in Nibelheim. It happens to be my mommy's hometown too. Maybe you'd like to go there sometime?" Samara asked.

"I've been there too. It's so nice and quiet and peaceful there… I've been to the ShinRa mansion and met your dad. GAWDS! I can't believe he's the President! And he looks so young too!" Kairi responded in awe.

"What about your dad? What does he do for a living?" Samara asked curiously.

"Oh him? He's a mercenary. He once belonged to Soldier but eventually quit." Kairi replied with an uninterested look on her face.

"You don't seem to like your dad?" Samara asked, eyeing her carefully. Kairi smiled weakly, "Not really… it's just that… he's odd. It's like he's been deprived of something… because he always says that life is so unfair. But I love him because he's my daddy." She explained.

Samara just stared blankly at her before sighing heavily. Then, Kairi remembered something, "Samara, I think you shouldn't believe the Doctor who told you that your parents do not love you." She began.

Samara just bowed down her head, hiding her face behind her long black hair.

Kairi moved closer to her and knelt down before her, parting Samara's hair so that she could see her face. Kairi was smiling kindly at her before reaching down to the pendant, looking at the ShinRa logo. "This is your family's logo, right?" she asked.

Samara just snatched the pendant away from her and turned away stubbornly, but she refused to say anything.

"What exactly did the Doctor tell you?" Kairi asked gently.

Samara was silent for a while before finally replying with a low but trembling tone, "Daddy loves his money… he wants me to go away… because ever since I came into his life, the sales went down…"

Silence.

Kairi giggled. "Samara, your family is practically okay! In fact, it's richer than ever!" she said.

"Because I've been gone for a year!" Samara exclaimed.

"No!" Kairi made the little girl face her as she held onto her shoulders, "Samara, if your parents do not love you, how come they are looking for you?"

Samara's eyes widened upon hearing that. Kairi nodded her head. "Daddy told me about it. My mom went with Mrs. Strife to accompany Mrs. ShinRa to Nibelheim because she is looking for you! And President Rufus? He's been going back and forth from Junon to Midgar so that he could check on how the investigations are going. The Turks are also looking for you! Samara, please understand! That Doctor you're talking about is evil. He brainwashed you with his lies!" she explained futher with a determined look on her face.

Samara just stared up at her in wonder. "Wh…what?" she asked in shock.

"Samara, he has taken advantage of your innocence and your love for your parents that's why he was able to make you believe in all of those lies! Samara, please believe me. I'm not joking!" Kairi said, slowly letting her go.

Before Samara could say something else, they heard someone cussing from somewhere within the cave too… and approaching.

"Who's that?" Kairi asked in a hoarse whisper.

Samara instantly got up and got Kairi's hand and led the way to an exit.

            "Serves Riku right! Hmf! Ugh… stupid fire… it burned a part of my cape… now it's dirty!" Kuja was muttering angrily before he stopped in his tracks. The aura that he had sensed was gone.

He sneered when he saw the bonfire. "They were here…" and proceeded his way through the cave again, looking for Kairi and Samara…

            Samara and Kairi just kept on running for their lives, even though they were already very tired and they wanted so much to just rest in one place. They finally got out of the cave and went down the other side of the mountains until they saw a small beach resort.

"Look! Over there!" Kairi said, pointing at the small cottages.

Samara just narrowed her eyes at the cottages.

Kairi smiled at her, "We could ask help from them!" she said.

"No! I don't like those innocent people to be harmed by Kuja in case they take care of us. Let's just get out of this place!" Samara explained with a concerned look on her face.

Kairi thought for a while before nodding her head, "You're right. C'mon, let's go." She said, but still went for the cottages.

"Kairi?! I thought we're going away?" Samara called out in a loud whisper.

"We are. But we can't just run all night, right?" Kairi asked before hurrying up. Finally, they arrived at the resort and saw parked cars.

Samara blinked and stared at the cars… and saw a white convertible.

Kairi was also eyeing the white convertible with a stern smile on her face before rushing to it, chuckling.

Samara went after her and watched as she hopped in.

Kairi checked for the keys, but there weren't any.

"Obviously, the driver wouldn't leave the keys here unless he's stupid," Samara said airily.

"Well there must be a way for us to start this thing without keys!" Kairi said.

Samara hopped inside and sat down on the front passenger seat. "Yes, there is a way," she said before surprising her friend when the engine just started.

Kairi stared unbelievably at her.

Samara just smiled sweetly. "Well, I do hope that you can drive this thing." She said.

Kairi laughed nervously, realizing that Samara was controlling the engine with her mind. "Alright… heehee… you almost scared me… eheh…" she stepped on the accelerator immediately, making the two of them jump in surprise when the car suddenly jolted to a start.

"Whoa!" Kairi stepped on the brakes.

They were stunned.

"Let me guess… you don't know how to drive?" Samara asked before she buckled up.

Kairi was panting heavily, "Well… no… but I could learn! I watched my dad drive several times!" she said before putting on her seatbelt.

The two took a deep breath.

"Are you aware that we're stealing this car?" Samara asked.

"Well… we're just going to borrow it! I mean, our life depends on this thing!" Kairi said with a weak and sheepish smile on her face as she finally made the car run again and then they finally got on the road.

"Never mind! This is not the time to start feeling guilty. Just hurry it up. I'm having a hard time multi-tasking!" Samara snapped impatiently while clutching her head tightly.

"Are you alright?" Kairi asked nervously, turning to her.

"Just keep your eyes on the road. I'm concentrating. I'm trying to block our auras from radiating further from a meter from us so that Kuja wouldn't know where we are; and I'm also trying to keep this car's engine moving." Samara explained.

"Gee… I wish I had your abilities so that I can have something worthwhile to do." Kairi said before turning back to the road ahead of them. She also turned on the headlights so that she could see well. The highway was really dark.

"Why?" Samara asked.

"Well… I really hate it whenever Riku and Sora are fighting monsters and then I'm just stuck standing behind them… really far from them so that I wouldn't get hurt." Kairi explained with a sheepish look on her face.

Samara thought for a while before asking, "You mentioned earlier that your mom's a ninja and your dad's a mercenary?"

"Yeah, but they don't really teach me everything that they know." Kairi sighed heavily. "I wish someone would teach me how to hold a sword… or even a little kick-boxing! Yeah, that'd be cool too!" she continued with a hopeful look on her face.

"You could tell your mom and dad that you want to learn those things… maybe they can teach you." Samara said.

"Well… yeah… I could… I've tried it once but they're so busy with other stuff about family expenses, their jobs and themselves. Not that I'm a neglected child, but they leave me to do my own thing. Mommy even gave me shurikens for my last birthday but I don't know how to use them!" Kairi explained with a troubled look on her face.

"If you want… once we get back to our homes, I could help you learn. And I'll also teach you what I know about guns and kick-boxing." Samara offered.

"You'd really do that?" Kairi asked in awe, turning to her.

Samara smiled and nodded. "Yep. It's easy!" and slowly turned her gaze back on the road when she realized that a truck was approaching them, ready to hit. "TRUCK!!!!!" she screeched.

Kairi instantly turned back to the road and screeched with Samara before swerving sharply to the gutter to avoid the incoming truck.

As soon as they had avoided the truck, Kairi drove the car back on the main highway, panting heavily. "GAWDS!!!" She reacted in relief.

Samara was clutching her chest. "Just… keep your eyes on the road!" she snapped in annoyance.

Kairi giggled sheepishly. "Heehee! I'm sorry…" she apologized.

"Yeah, whatever…" Samara muttered miserably.

            Riku woke up in the middle of the night, feeling so light-headed. "Ugh… I'll never want to have another shot of that tranquilizer…" he muttered miserably before he sat up groggily and tried to feel for the switch of the lamplight. "And why did they have to turn out the lights?" he thought miserably before he finally found the switch and then turned on the lamplight. He gazed around the dimly-lit bedroom, and realized that he was just alone there.

"They left me? I thought they were still injured…" he thought to himself, feeling irritated as he slowly got out of bed, feeling his stomach grumbling. "And I'm hungry too…" he murmured as he groggily made his way to the door and slowly got out of the room. The hallway still had lights on so he did not have a hard time locating the stairs and tried to find the dining room and the kitchen. On his way down, he heard the telephone ringing.

He stopped walking and began to search the whole hallway, until he caught sight of the telephone on top of an endtable at the end of the stairs on the first floor. He made his way to it and sensing that no one else was awake to answer it, he just picked it up and placed the receiver against his ear, saying, "H…Hello?"

"Hallo, I'd like to speak to my mum, please?" said the voice on the other line.

"U-uh…" Riku gulped, feeling a bit awkward, "Who shall I say is calling?"

The voice on the other line paused. "This is Theodore. Who is this?"

Riku's eyes widened upon hearing the name. He could recall Samara mentioning that name several times before… "It's her twin…" he reminded himself silently before somebody tapped his shoulder from behind. He jerked and turned around, but calmed down when he saw that it was only the First Lady.

Tifa examined the perplexed look in Riku's face with a concerned look on her face, "Riku, what are you doing here? Aren't you supposed to be resting?" she asked gently.

Riku smiled weakly at her before handing her the receiver, "It's… Theodore," he revealed. She blinked before taking the receiver from his grasp and placed it against her ear, "Hello, Theo?" she greeted softly.

"Mommy! Who was that?" the little boy asked from the other line.

"Oh, that was Riku, one of Mister Sephiroth's sons." She said as she watched Riku walk away from her, looking around the big lobby of the mansion. He headed for one particular direction where a big family picture of the ShinRas was displayed. He just stared up at it with awe in his eyes while Tifa continued to talk on the phone.

"Anyway, dearie, why did you call? Do you know what time it is?" she asked.

"…I can't sleep. I keep having… dreams…" Theodore responded. He sounded worried.

She frowned slightly. "What kind of dreams?" she asked curiously.

"…Samara." He replied.

Tifa was silent for a while, thinking of what else to say, as he continued to explain, "Samara came back… but… someone is after her… and her life is in danger."

She bowed down her head, remembering what happened earlier that day. If it wasn't for Kuja, she could've been reunited with her daughter already… She just bit her lower lip before rubbing her forehead with her free hand. "I… I'm sure your sister will be alright… even though… Kuja is looking for her…" she admitted.

Theodore was silent for a few moments, staring at his twin sister's face on the picture that he was holding. It was a shot of the two of them taken with a Polaroid camera and he had it placed in a small frame. He would even take the picture with him everywhere he goes because he has a copy of it in his wallet… and even in his bedrooms in the ShinRa Villa (what he's holding at that moment), ShinRa Mansion, ShinRa Base in Junon and in Midgar… even in his mother's house in Nibelheim.

The picture consisted only of the two of them. He was hugging her tightly and he looked very pleased, even though she looked unhappy about it. He knows how much she hated having her picture taken, but during that day, he was able to convince her.

"I'm sure you have heard of what happened earlier?" Tifa asked her.

Theodore pressed his lips together before answering, "It's in the evening news, mom… but… I know that Samara did not do that." He said.

"How?" she asked.

He smiled bitterly. "Because I'm her twin. I should know, right mom? I… can feel her… and I know she's alright. I don't know where she is right now… but it seems like she's coming closer. I've never felt this before in all those months that she was gone… and now, she feels closer again…" he admitted.

            Tifa just smiled softly as she leaned against the railing of the stair. "That's alright, Theodore… maybe… what you're feeling right now has a significance…" she said.

Theodore was silent for a few moments before saying, "Good night, mom…" and then hung up.

Tifa put down the receiver on the phone and sighed heavily. She sat down on the first step of the stairs, looking down on the ground with a tired look on her face. "… I'm sorry, Theodore…" she whispered softly.

Riku turned around, looking at her curiously. He approached her, "Are you alright, Ma'am?" he asked.

She smiled weakly at him. "I'm… just… confused… so confused right now…" she covered her face with her hands and rested her elbows on her lap. She felt so hopeless and more confused than before. "…I just want my Samara back…" she said with a trembling tone as she began to cry.

Riku's expression softened as he sat down beside her and listened carefully to her, "…I… don't know why or how that Doctor had managed to make her think that I'd do something like… hate her; while that would be the last thing that I would do." She said softly as she removed her hands from her face and looked up at the big photo hanging on the wall, "And now I'm feeling so guilty because the first thing I thought about when I saw Nibelheim on fire today is that Samara was the one who started it." She told him.

Riku just stared unbelievably at her.

She smiled bitterly before turning her attention at Samara's picture. "I know that I'm aware of the harm that she could cause… but I'm trying my best to teach her to use it for the benefit of people… not for destruction…" she explained.

Riku frowned slightly, "But she uses it to defend herself… and I can assure you that… she wasn't the one who started the fire." He told her.

"I know… but… I don't know what came into me that made me think that she was the one who did it…" she responded before wiping her tears away, "…when Samara disappeared, I was the last one who found out about it… My husband, Rufus, was already panicking and he was yelling at everyone, blaming everybody from the Turks to the Soldiers when I arrived in Junon for his parade. I arrived late because I had to pick up Lavinia from school… Theodore was crying and he wanted to jump into the ocean and he was screaming, _Samara's in there! Samara's in there! I have to save her!_ … Oh, Riku… it was one of the most horrible days of my life!" she explained.

From the second floor, they were unaware that Cloud, Sora and Squall were listening to the conversation.

Squall was silently thinking, "Maybe Hojo escaped through a submarine…"

Cloud just kept quiet, staring at Tifa with wonder in his eyes. "How come the ShinRas kept it a secret from everybody else… that one of the children is missing?" he said softly in a tone audible enough for only Squall and Sora to hear.

Squall bowed down his head, lowering his gaze to the family picture on the first floor wall by the doorway leading to the hall to the dining area and the kitchen. "Maybe because ShinRa is a picture of perfection… and Rufus wants to keep it that way." He replied with a slight frown on his face.

Sora just kept quiet, remembering everything that Samara had told him before... and what Squall had just mentioned. He looked up at his father and smiled solemnly. "I guess I should be thankful that even if we aren't basically as rich as the ShinRas and the Valentines, we are still together and… our lives are peaceful and nobody's bothering us." He thought silently.

They just watched in complete silence as Tifa wiped her own tears away and smiled cheerfully at Riku and got up, "So, aren't you supposed to be resting?" she asked.

He got up and smiled sheepishly at her, "Er… I'm really hungry right now and I was thinking if I could eat…" he began embarrassingly.

She chuckled lightly, "Oh yes. I'll fix you something in the kitchen. C'mon, what do you want? Some BLT sandwhich or macaroni and cheese or anything… you name it, I'll cook it for you!" she said as she led the way to the kitchen.

Riku's eyes widened as he followed after her, "Uhm… no thank you. It's… embarrassing! I mean, you're the First Lady and… you're not supposed to do…" he began.

When Sora heard that, he was shocked. Cloud noticed his reaction and laughed, "Stop wondering. Not all rich people are like Tifa… so we're very lucky to have her as a friend." He told him.

"How come?" Sora asked.

"She wasn't born rich. She was from the middle class in her childhood, and she had been through a lot of poverty and suffering when her father died… so she can relate to us normal citizens as much as possible." Cloud explained.

"So you mean to say that she's the image-booster of ShinRa?" Squall asked.

"Well… yes and no… because Rufus is helping her. I'm telling you; that guy has changed a lot ever since he met her…" Cloud told them before deciding to go down the stairs. The two followed after him, "What do you mean?" Squall asked.

"Well… I never really thought that I'd be friends with a person like him but now… he's really one of my closest pals." Cloud responded before picking up the receiver of the telephone. "And since we're going into battle, I just thought I'd call upon reinforcements…" he said before dialing some numbers.

"Oh is that why you were reading the news online hours ago?" Squall asked. He recalled seeing Cloud inside Rufus's study reading the online news. Cloud told him that he read about Tidus and co. coming arriving in Midgar because Spira had been destroyed by Kuja. "You guys go ahead to the kitchen for a midnight snack. I'll just talk to Tidus." Cloud instructed.

"Yeah, whatever…" Squall responded before going ahead. Sora smiled happily at Cloud before hugging him tightly, surprising him. "I love you dad!" he said happily before he let go and ran after Squall. "Hey, wait up, Leon!" he called out.

Squall's frown deepened and he had this irritated look on his face as he snapped back at Sora, "It's _Squall._."

"Yeah, whatever!" Sora mimicked rather mockingly before laughing heartily. Squall just rolled his eyes.


	17. Chapter Sixteen

16 

It was already five thirty in the morning when Reno, Elena, Tseng and Rude began to feel extreme sleepiness. Coffee and cola did not seem to work.

When Lavinia told Reno to keep guard, he could not understand why he obeyed her… and when he told that to Elena, Tseng and Rude, they were influenced too. Something about the child's words made them feel like something was really going to happen… but they do not know if it is good or bad.

Elena stayed in the hallway where Theodore and Lavinia's bedrooms were located; Reno stayed by the stairs.

Rude was by the main doorway while Tseng was the one moving around, patrolling around the area.

Few members of Soldier were also scattered around the territory, either patrolling around or just staying guard in their designated posts inside and outside the ShinRa Villa.

It really took a lot of convincing from Theodore before Rufus allowed him and Lavinia to take a vacation in Costa del Sol. He did not really specify to his father why he wanted so much to go there… but the truth is, he dreamt about coming there and meeting his twin sister again. He wouldn't want to worry his father.

The only person whom he had told the dream about was Lavinia, so she also agreed to back him up in case their father did not allow them. Rufus allowed them to go as long as the Turks would be around with them all the time and there would be maximum security around them always.

A quarter before six o'clock in the morning, they all thought that they heard a sound of a car engine stopping. Everybody became alert and Tseng instantly went to the front door and got out. He scanned the whole area before him when he saw that nobody was there but Soldiers.

"Mister Tseng, there's a white convertible over there!" one of the soldiers told him.

Tseng frowned slightly before rushing to the place where the soldiers had pointed.

But there was no one in the car.

Theodore slowly opened his eyes when he heard the static sound coming from the TV. He immediately sat up, trying to adjust his vision with with brightness of the TV and the early morning sunshine. He stared strangely at the Television and he began to feel nervous, but at the same time, excited. With that, he instantly jumped out of bed and rushed to the TV. After switching it off, he giggled happily before rushing out of his bedroom with a happy smile on his face.

Elena jerked awake when she heard the door of Theodore's bedroom slam shut and she instantly got up from her chair. "Master Theodore!" she said in surprise.

"Good day, Elena!" he greeted happily as he rushed to Lavinia's bedroom door, but before he could open it, it already opened from inside. Theodore stopped in his tracks and stared at his younger sister in awe while he and Elena listened unbelievably to the sound of static from the TV inside her room. Lavinia has a happy smile on her face but she did not say anything.

Theodore just smiled happily at her, and she smiled back. Together, they ran hand-in-hand through the hallway, down the stairs and outside the ShinRa Villa, disregarding the Turks who were chasing them.

"Master Theodore! Lady Lavinia! Where are you going?! It's dangerous for you to go out in the open!!!" Elena was yelling at them.

The two stopped running when they reached the middle of the street. They were looking straight ahead but they were not moving… until the Turks arrived at their side. "Get them inside," Tseng commanded.

Reno grabbed Theodore while Rude got Lavinia, but the little girl bit Rude's hand and ran off.

Despite the pain, Rude still ran after Lavinia with Elena following after them.

Lavinia went to the backyard of the ShinRa Villa and she stopped running, panting heavily, when she saw a familiar-looking face staring back at her from under a coconut tree. She felt her heart sink and tears began to form in her crimson eyes, "S…Samzy?" she whispered softly with a trembling tone.

Elena and Rude stopped running when they saw the little girl with long jet-black hair standing in one corner of the backyard garden under a coconut tree. Elena gasped, "Could it be?!"

Standing beside the girl with jet-black hair was a young girl with reddish-brown hair… and Elena thought she knew her.

Samara stared wide-eyed at the three… and finally, Theodore arrived with Tseng and Reno; he was still struggling to break free from Reno's grasp, but when Reno saw her, he suddenly felt so weak that he let the little boy slip away from himself.

Everybody was silent for several moments, just staring at each other. The only sound they could hear were seagulls and the ocean.

Samara sniffed as she smiled happily, and then ran to Theodore and Lavinia.

Lavinia smiled happily and ran to meet her with open arms. "Samzy!!!" she cheered happily.

Theodore laughed gleefully and also welcomed his twin sister with open arms. "Sizzy!" he greeted happily. Samara embraced the two as they embraced her back altogether.

Kairi sighed in relief as she just watched them quietly. "Finally… she's home…" she thought silently with a pleased smile on her face.

Tseng smiled calmly before turning to his colleagues, "Hey, Reno, take them inside. Elena, you go with Reno. Rude, come with me; we're calling the Prez and the First Lady."

"Hmm… I'm not really sure if this is the right address but…" Tidus was murmuring to himself before pushing the doorbell of a big mansion-like house in Nibelheim.

He waited for a few moments before somebody opened the door: Sora.

Sora's eyes widened upon seeing Tidus. "Hey!" he greeted happily.

"Sora!" Tidus cried out excitedly. From inside, Cloud watched as the two gave each other a high-five.

"Hey, Tidus," Cloud greeted with a slight smile on his face.

Tidus turned to Cloud and laughed in a very gleeful manner, "Yo, Cloud!!!" he ran inside the house and gave him a friendly hug. "Long time no see! So, how'ya doin' now?" he asked.

"Er… I'm… fine… urk… lemme go, you're choking me…" Cloud tried to say while struggling to push his friend away from himself.

Tidus let go of Cloud, "Oh, sorry 'bout that. Anyway…" he looked up at the high ceiling with awe and then let his gaze travel around him, admiring the big house and its furniture, "Whoa… you live here in this place?" he asked in awe.

"Do you even think my surname is _ShinRa_?" Cloud asked sarcastically.

Tidus thought for a while before replying, "Well I can't really remember what your surname is… but I think it starts with an S… so I'd assume that it's ShinRa?" He had this funny smile on his face.

Sora shut the door and chuckled lightly before saying, "Well if it's ShinRa, I'd be wearing something more formal than this!" he was referring to his clothes.

Tidus laughed heartily, "Oh yeah! Now I remember your surname! It's Gainsborough, right?" he asked.

Silence.

"No actually, that's my wife's maiden name." Cloud replied while scratching his head and staring miserably at Tidus. "Never mind… let's just go to the living room. Follow me." Cloud said before leading the way.

"Well then what's your surname again?" Tidus asked in confusion.

"Try to guess. If you guess it right, I'll treat you to some ice cream."

Tidus looked up to the ceiling. "Uuuuuuuh…"

After 5 minutes of listening to Tidus say "Uuuuuh", Cloud finally said, "Okay, you lose the ice cream. It's Strife, for the love of Hyne…"

Tidus scratched his head. "Eheh… I wouldn't have guessed!" he said with a silly smile, but it faded when he saw Riku sitting on one of the couches and flipping through the pages of an album. "Oh… hey, Riku," he greeted.

Riku looked up at him with a stiff look on his face.

Tidus was just quiet, not knowing what to say. Cloud had told him about what happened to them in Nibelheim, and Tidus guessed that it had some effect on Riku's mind. "Uhum…. So… What did you call me for again?" he said awkwardly… although he already knew the answer to that question. He just decided to ask it again so that he could say something else and not ask Riku about Samara. Tidus proceeded to sit down beside Riku and took a quick glance at the album. He looked away for a moment, but then decided to look again when he saw that the pictures looked strange…

Basically, the album was full of pictures of a little girl but he could not make out the face and who she is because every single picture was distorted.

"We're going to fight Kuja. We need all the help we can get," Cloud answered, noticing Tidus' reaction towards the album.

Tidus was creeped out when he saw the pictures. He tried to shrug it off by asking another question he knew the answer to. "D'you have any idea where he is?"

"I've told you before, no…" Cloud answered.

Out of nowhere, another voice answered. "What we do know is that he's looking for Samara."

Tidus looked up to the speaker. He grinned. "Hey! You're Leon, right?"

Squall felt a vein pop somewhere, but he just gritted his teeth and muttered, "It's _Squall_…"

"What is it with the name-changing anyway! You'll end up having an alternate personality doing that, you know?! Eheheheheheheheheheheheh…."

"Shut the bloody hell up." Squall sneered as he plopped down on the couch away from Tidus and Riku.

They were interrupted when Tifa arrived with Aerith and Yuffie.

Yuffie gasped when she saw Squall. "LEON!!!" she greeted.

Silence.

"Uh… never mind…" she said with a sheepish look on her face.

Squall was glaring angrily at everyone already, but before he could say a comment, Tifa spoke up, "So you guys are ready?" she asked.

"Huh? Why? Where are we going?" Sora asked.

"You're going to look for Kuja." Aerith pointed out.

"Mrs. ShinRa," Riku slammed the album shut with a deep frown on his face before turning his gaze to Tifa, "How come all her pictures are like this?" he asked with a stiff tone.

Tifa turned her gaze to the album for a moment before turning back to Riku with a slight smile on her face. "I don't really know… it just happens… but… take a look at her in a group shot…." She approached the coffee table and got another album, opening it to specific pages and then showing the pictures to Riku. The pictures consisted of Samara with her family… and the Turks, and even some of the ShinRa Executives. Some were even candid shots.

Riku fought the urge to smile, but Sora, Tidus and Aerith saw the sudden joy in his eyes. Aerith bit her lower lip to stop herself from giggling, but the two others started snickering and then began to chant, "Riku's got a girlfriend! Riku's got a girlfriend!"

Riku grunted and grabbed an album full of old pictures of Old Man ShinRa and threw it at Tidus and Sora, but the two ducked, therefore, the album hit Squall's forehead. "OW! Bloody hell!?" He exclaimed in annoyance.

"Oops…" Riku muttered.

"Heh heh… Riku and Samara sittin' in a Paopu Tree. K-I-S-S-I…"

"Alright, alright, stop that. How could she even be my girlfriend if she's five years younger than me?!" Riku snapped with a blush on his face.

"Well… your mommy is waaaay older than your dad!" Aerith teased.

"And my mommy is a year older than daddy!" Sora said.

Tifa snickered. "Samara's dad… my husband? He's a year older than me." She said.

Silence.

The more Riku blushed when he realized that Samara's mother, Tifa, was in the same room… "OH MY?!" he exclaimed, his whole face turning red.

"Nyaha! He's blushing more and more!" Yuffie teased.

They all began to laugh, except for Squall (who was rubbing his bruised forehead miserably) and Riku (who was the one being laughed-at)… and they all just jerked and suddenly froze all of a sudden when the telephone began to ring.

Silence.

"Aren't you gonna answer that, Teef?" Cloud asked softly.

Tifa just stared at the phone. "Oh… yeah… but…" she stammered.

"Oh bloody hell, it's just a telephone! Like it's gonna kill us…" Squall got up and answered the call, "Yeah?"

Silence.

They watched as Squall raised his eyebrows. "What? Oh…" he turned his gaze to Yuffie before covering the mouthpiece of the telephone and asked, "Who the hell is ZACK?!"

Silence.

Yuffie hopped up happily and rushed to him, grabbing the phone and then answering the call, "Zacky!" she greeted happily.

"Don't ask. Life is unfair." Cloud mumbled to him.

Squall just frowned with a confused look on his face.

After a few more minutes, Yuffie ended the conversation with Zack with a happy, "Alright, byeeee!!! MWAH! Heehee!" and put down the receiver on the phone again. She sighed happily, "Kairi is alright!" she announced to them.

Riku's eyes widened. "What? But…" he was about to ask about Samara, but he was interrupted when the telephone began to ring again.

Silence.

Cloud, Squall, Tifa and Yuffie rushed over to the telephone and struggled to answer it…

"C'mon, it could be for me!!!" Tifa told them.

"It could be Rinoa!" Squall snapped.

"BAAAH! I'm expecting a call from Rufus!" Cloud argued.

"It could be Zack again!!!" Yuffie said, trying to pull the phone away from them, but it just slipped from their hands and landed on the floor; and it was still ringing.

The four began to argue, and while arguing, Lucrecia arrived with a syringe in her hand, "What's going on here?" she asked.

Riku saw the syringe and his eyes widened in shock. "Not again?!" he exclaimed.

Lucrecia handed the syringe to Aerith before going to the phone, picked it up from the floor and answered it, "ShinRa Mansion, good morning." She greeted.

"Hello?" a familiar voice answered on the phone.

Lucrecia gasped.

"Uh…" the voice continued, confused. "Is Riku there? I've heard what had happened, and…"

She didn't continue listening; she grabbed the tranquilizer from Aerith's hands and struck herself, while mumbling incoherent words to herself.

The rest were in shock, but Riku managed to grab the phone and answer it. "Mom! Hi!" he said happily on the phone.

"I think I know who that is…" Cloud told Squall.

Aerith and Yuffie began to help Lucrecia who was already having another episode, letting her sit down on one of the foot stools while telling her to ease up.

Tifa was just scratching her head.

Riku shrugged and sat down and told his _mother_, "Oh, that was granny. She's having another breakdown. You know what, mom, I don't really know why she's like that! How come you and dad wouldn't tell me the reason?" he asked curiously.

Everyone just heard a loud, "WHAT? LUCRECIA?!" from the receiver. Riku had to pull it away from his ear because it almost made his eardrums burst.

Tidus's eyes widened upon hearing the loud voice from that telephone, "Hey, isn't that a man's voice?" he asked.

"SHHHHH!!!" Cloud, Squall, Tifa, Aerith and Yuffie all hissed at them. Lucrecia's sobs grew louder.

Tidus scratched his head, "What did I say? Well… it sounded like a man! But Riku said it's his mom so…" he trailed off when Lucrecia just got up and rushed to him, strangling him. "YOU!!!!!" she growled.

"AAARGH! Eheh!?" Tidus reacted, trying to save himself by forcing her hands off his neck.

"Lucrecia?! Calm down!!!" Squall and Cloud began to pull her away from Tidus. She just let go when Riku finally ended the call and put down the phone on one of the end tables. "Whew… mommy began to rant again…" he said.

Lucrecia began to cry again… and everybody was confused on why the tranquilizer wouldn't even work fast on her. They were already confused on what to do with her, but before anybody else could comment, the phone rang again.

Silence.

"If it's Vincent, ask him about Lucrecia," Cloud whispered to Tidus. Tidus was still coughing because of the choking a few moments ago, but he still went over to the phone and answered it, "Yeah?"

Silence.

He made a face and then turned to Tifa, "You're Tifa, right? What the hell is a TSENG?" he asked.

Tifa's eyes widened before rushing to him and pressed the speakerphone button. "Tseng? Is that you?" she asked with a frantic tone.

"Tseng!!! This is Tseng." A man with a very noticeable Wutaian accent answered from the other line.

"Is everything alright there in Costa del Sol? Didn't I tell you not to call here unless there's something wrong there? Is there? Oh my goodness, Tseng, please tell me my children are alright!!! I'm going to kill myself if I find out that…" she began to blab.

"Tseng!!! Keep cool, Miss Lockheart---I mean, Mrs. ShinRa… ma'am… uh… everything's alright here… in fact, waaaaay alright!" Tseng explained with a happy tone.

Tifa forgot to breathe. "What?" she asked in confusion.

"Well we have good news for you because… AARGH!!! You!!!" Tseng yelled, while a loud biting sound was heard in the background. A few struggling noises were heard, too, before a happy voice piped up, "Mommy!"

"Lavinia?! What's going on?" Tifa asked, confused more than ever.

"Mommy! Good news! Me and Theodore found Samzy!" Lavinia announced happily.

Tifa felt like fainting because of too much joy and relief.

Riku approached the phone and said, "WHAT?!"

Lavinia raised an eyebrow, same with Tseng and Rude who were standing around a speaker phone.

Theodore was just seated in one corner of the room while singing, "lalalalalala Sitting in a Tree…"

Riku heard the "lalalalalala sitting in a tree" and he twitched again.

"Yeah, that's what I said… We found Samara! With Kairi, too… and who the heck are you, Mister?" Lavinia asked with a demanding tone.

Silence.

"Oh that's your sister's boyfriend." Tidus chimed in.

Silence.

Tifa snapped out of her trance and tried to stop herself from laughing, "That's… good… uh… does your daddy know already?" she asked with a happy smile on her face.

"Yeah! Mister Rude told him but he got another salary deduction for not saying it soon enough." Lavinia explained. "But anyway, what sister's boyfriend? Is that Demitri?" she continued.

"No, that's not Demitri… that was Riku. He's Samara's _friend_." Tifa explained.

Riku wanted to die because of too much embarrassment.

"Anyway I…" Tifa was about to say, but her mobile phone began to ring. She got it from her blazer pocket and checked the caller I.D. Her smile widened as she threw the mobile phone over to Cloud. "Answer it for me, will ya?" she asked before proceeding to talk to Lavinia.

Cloud checked the caller I.D. and snickered before answering it using falsetto voice, "Hello? Heeheeheehee! Rufus dahling!!!"

"WHO THE HELL IS THIS?!" an angry voice yelled after a few moments of silence from the other line.

Cloud lost hope, "Nah… I can never pull it off as good as Sephiroth can…" he muttered miserably with a mean smile on his face.

"Cloud… where's Tifa… and what are you doing with her phone?" Rufus demanded.

"She's talking to Lavinia. Heard the good news. Congratulations. Now all we have to do is go to Costa del Sol before Kuja does." Cloud told him.

"Yeah, I know… that's why I'm calling. Well, I'll just see you there. And tell Tifa to call me while you're in the chopper." Rufus instructed.

Cloud snickered and answered again in falsetto, "Alright, Ruffykins! Heeheeheehee! And remember….. I love you!"

Aerith smacked his back because of what he was doing and she has this warning look on her face. Cloud was laughing out loud with Yuffie, while Sora was looking at his father strangely with one thought on his mind: "I didn't know Dad could sound like a girl…" and he even muttered it.

Cloud didn't know that Tifa was already finished talking to Lavinia and was already listening to him trying to imitate her. She approached Sora and said, "You know, I don't mean to put you in a state of shock but… your dad once dressed up as a girl in order to try to save me when we were younger."

Silence.

"Alright, Tifa, that's enough," Aerith said, pulling her friend away from her son.

Sora had this bewildered look on his face, thinking "Hanging around Mister Sephiroth is bad for Dad…" He shuddered.

Cloud frowned upon seeing Sora's facial expression. "Uhurm… anyway, we better get going…" he said, turning back to his serious mode.

"Leave me alone, I can take a bath by myself!" Samara snapped impatiently at Elena and Reno who were still insisting on giving her a bath.

"Oh no, Miss Samara. We're going to make sure nothing bad happens to you while you're in the tub!" Elena said.

"At least get Mister Reno away from here!" Samara wailed.

Reno sneered at her, "Duh! You're just a kid! As if there's something to see in you? HAH! But anyway, when you turn 13, you'll be like your mommy! Whoooooo!!!" he teased before laughing.

Samara blushed as she looked down at her own chest then turned back to Reno with wide eyes. "What?!" she asked.

"Alright, Reno, get out. She smells like sea water. She really needs to bathe right now before her parents arrive!" Elena said as she pushed Reno out of the bathroom and then locked the door. She sighed heavily. "Don't mind him, Miss Samara. He's been like that ever since before I got hitched to him. I don't even know why I love that guy!" she said before she began to mix bubble bath with the water in the tub.

Samara just stared strangely at her. "Gee… maybe you bonked your head or something." She muttered while rolling her eyes.

Elena stopped and thought for a while. "You know… maybe you're right….. but anyway…" she began again. But Samara hated loooong talks with Elena so she decided to change the topic by saying, "Hey, when Mister Reno said that I'm gonna be like mommy… does it mean that I'm also going to marry a guy who acts like daddy?"

Elena turned to face her. "Well… not necessarily… but most probably you'll tie the knot with a rich guy! Heehee! Probably a Prince!" she said cheerfully.

Samara's eyes widened. "Prince?" she asked.

Elena was about to say something else but it turned out that Reno heard what they're talking about from outside the bathroom (because he's just standing guard by the door) and chimed in, "Nah! Maybe she'll marry a freak… yeah… someone with purple hair… no! Silver hair! Gahahahahahahahaha!"

The lights began to flicker.

Reno shouted, "Hey, I was only joking, Lady Samara! Heh heh…"

Samara eased up and made a gesture for Elena to turn around. Elena blinked, "Oh… sorry." She turned away from the little girl.

They were silent for a while, and then Samara spoke up again, "Okay, you can look at me again."

Elena faced the little girl again, but she was already in the tub. She smiled at the little girl. "You know, we really missed you." She said.

Samara looked into Elena's eyes. She was telling the truth; but Samara just kept quiet and bowed down her head.

"Hmm… Samara," Elena began.

Samara lifted her gaze up to Elena.

"Can you tell me… who… took you away from Junon?" Elena asked curiously.

Samara just kept quiet and looked away from her.

Elena sighed heavily. "Samara, please tell us… I promise that he or she wouldn't harm you anymore. That's what we Turks are here for!" she said encouragingly.

Samara bit her lip, thinking things through as Elena just continued to wash her hair.

Even after she had come out from the tub, dried off and put on a clean new white dress with white lace, she was still quiet.

Samara was the first one to get out of the bathroom in her new clothes and clean black shoes, but she rushed inside the bathroom again when she forgot something. She went to her dirty clothes on the floor and picked it up, reaching inside the pocket and pulling out the Paopu fruit.

She sighed heavily, relieved that it was still there.

Reno was staring strangely at her, staring at the Paopu fruit and then at the necklace hanging on her neck. "Say, where'd you get those?" he asked.

Samara did not answer.

Reno went to her with a curious smile, "Can I see that star?" he asked, about to grab it, but she withdrew it away from him before he could even lay a finger on it. She shook her head quietly and she had a stubborn pout on her lips. He just shrugged. "Yeah, sure…" he muttered. Samara just went over to the window and decided to peek outside. She can see the ocean from her bedroom window… but she felt something else… something that made her look down… and what she saw made her gasp in sudden fear, alarming Reno and Elena.

"Ha-ha-ha-ha-ha… I have arrived… Let me inside!" Hojo demanded from the Soldiers who were blocking his way.

"Can I see your ShinRa I.D. first, sir?" one of the Soldiers asked.

"What for? I work for ShinRa so let me inside. I have to inspect the children's health. President Rufus told me to take care of his children!" Hojo insisted.

"Yeah, right! You don't look like Doctor Lucrecia Valentine!" one of the Soldiers sneered sarcastically while the others laughed out loud.

Hojo frowned, but forced himself to smile. This creeped the Soldiers out. "Ah, yes, I understand… but you people are still in the way of my duties, so…" he reached into his pocket to reveal a shiny sphere.

"Materia!" screamed one of the Soldiers, but they didn't have a chance to defend themselves from the sleep spell that the professor cast.

For some reason, when Rude entered the bathroom to do his thing there, when he decided to open the door and get out, he couldn't do so.

He frowned and banged against the door, "Okay, Reno, this isn't funny!" he called out.

But all he heard were heavy dragging footsteps moving away from the door. He froze. "That doesn't sound anything like Reno's footsteps… or Tseng's… and definitely not Elena's… unless one of those kids are trying to scare me again… but I don't think…" he stopped his thoughts when he heard Lavinia screaming shrilly.

"Oh no!" he began to panic and began to use all his efforts to break down the door, but nothing did the trick. Rufus had the science department develop strong material for all the doors of all his mansions all over the Planet… and that material cannot really be broken by mere human force.

And unfortunately, Rude doesn't have his materia or his guns with him…

Tseng was karate-chopping the door of the closet where he got locked in while playing hide and seek with Lavinia.

"Lady Lavinia, this is not funny!!!!!" he was saying angrily, but he stopped complaining and began to panic (and thought about salary deductions and even expulsion) when he heard the little girl scream shrilly.

Lavinia took a few steps backward while staring up at the creepy-looking mad scientist. "Who… what are you … doing here?" she stammered.

"Hahahahaha! Come here, Miss Lavinia. I am a nice man! I was a friend of your grandpa! Hahahahaha!" Hojo said while slowly coming forward to her with a creepy smile on his face.

She narrowed her eyes at him. "Whi…which grandpa?" she asked.

"Grandpa ShinRa! Hahahaha!" he responded.

Lavinia's crimson eyes widened at him. "Oh yuck!!!" she yelled in disgust. "I don't trust you at all! You smell like a lab rat and grandpa was a bad man! You must be bad, too!" she yelled.

"What's going on here, Lavinia?" Kairi asked as she came down from the stairs. She froze when she saw Hojo.

Hojo smiled at her. "Aha! I can smell Mako in you…" he said, sniffing the air.

Kairi felt her hairs rising when she heard that. "Wh…what?" she asked in confusion. "Lavinia, who is he?" she asked.

"An icky-icky man! He used to be Samara's doctor but…" Lavinia began.

Kairi instantly grabbed Lavinia's hand and decided to drag her upstairs. "OH MY GAWD???!!! Did you say _DOCTOR_?!" Kairi cried out in panic.

"Well… yeah?" Lavinia pointed out.

"OH MY GAWD!!!!!" Kairi exclaimed. She stopped running and let go of her. "Where's Tseng?" she asked.

"I… don't know! I was playing hide and seek with him but then I can't find him anymore! Then that creepy Doctor just popped out from the kitchen door!" Lavinia explained.

"But… the Soldiers?! Isn't this place supposed to be surrounded by ShinRa Soldiers?" Kairi asked.

"THERE YOU ARE!!!" Hojo greeted with a threatening look on his face as he finally reached the second floor.

The two girls shrieked upon seeing him and rushed inside one of the bedrooms, shut the door and bolted it. The two of them leaned against the door, panting hard and wide-eyed.

"Okay… how are we going to get out of here?" Kairi asked.

"Well… I hope that Reno and Elena… and even Rude can help us. If I know, that Doctor's after Samara!" Lavinia pointed out before rushing to the window and took a peek outside. She gasped. "Oh no… all the Soldiers have been knocked-out…" she said.

Kairi rushed over to her and looked outside too. She saw all the ShinRa Soldiers scattered and lying on the ground. "Do you think they're dead?" she asked.

"I don't know… but I… guess they're… just asleep…" Lavinia said softly. They both jerked in surprise and turned around to face the door again when they heard someone banging on it. "Hey, girls! It's time for your monthly check-up!"

"Oh crap! The only way out's through the window…" Kairi thought, but just before she could tell that to Lavinia, she saw the little girl rushing back to the door with her fists clenched. "Lavinia, where are you going?!" she called out.

"Well we have to do something!" Lavinia snapped impatiently before she completely opened the door, looking up at Hojo. "Alright, man! It's showtime!" she said with a mean smile on her face before surprising Hojo by kicking his shin and then punching his abdomen. Her blow was quite strong and it sent him flying back against the wall a few meters behind him.

Kairi was in awe upon seeing Lavinia do that. "Whoa!!!" she said in awe.

"C'mon, let's get going!" Lavinia said before leading the way to the stairs. Kairi followed after her.

Hojo struggled to stand up. "That… that little brat… she's… just like her mother… GAH!" he held onto a doorknob. "That's it… I shouldn't have underestimated those bratlings… it's time for plan B…" he muttered angrily as he pulled out a syringe with some bluegreen liquid in it. He instantly injected its contents into himself, letting the needle stab through his left arm. While injecting the liquid into himself, he had this wicked smile on his face as he stared up at the family portrait of the ShinRas hanging on the wall by the stairs. Afterwards, he threw the syringe at the portrait as if it was a dart, the needle almost hitting Rufus ShinRa's face. "Damn, I missed!" he hissed angrily. He suddenly froze when he felt excruciating pain running through his veins, racing up his brain, his heart… and then all over his body.

He fell onto his knees, panting hard. "It's… it's working!!! Hahahahaha!!!!!" he laughed victoriously.

"Oh shit?! What the hell--?!" Reno began the moment he stepped out of Samara's room. Elena was right behind him, also witnessing what was happening to Professor Hojo.

Hojo slowly turned to face them, his eyes seemingly glowing bright red, creeping them out.

Reno got his rod, eyeing Hojo disgustingly as he whispered to Elena, "Take Samara… jump out of the window and get away from here!" he told her.

"But… Reno, it's too high from here!" Elena said nervously.

"Just go!" Reno commanded while he watched, in disbelief and awe, mutating into some kind of strange-looking creature.

Another arm grew out from Hojo's sides and he began to crawl while white slime began to leak out of his mouth and eyes.

From inside the room, Samara was standing by the window, her eyes wide in horror upon seeing the horrible monster that Hojo had become.

"Miss Samara, let's go!" Elena told her.

Samara grabbed the Paopu fruit that she has placed on top of her dresser and attempted to place it inside her pocket, but she suddenly got thrown against the wall by the white slime that Hojo spit out on her. She got pinned against the wall by the sticky slime…

Elena was also stuck onto a wall and her feet to the floor. She was already holding a gun in her right hand but she could not fire it because it would be no use; her hand was stuck against the wall and the gun was facing the ceiling.

Reno was stuck to the floor, cursing Hojo angrily.

Hojo crawled like a spider, entering the room while laughing victoriously. "It's so nice to see you again, Lady Samara." He greeted the little girl whose back was facing him. He made it a point to make her stick against the wall and made sure that she was facing it so that she could not look at him and try to kill him just in case she tried.

She turned her head to her right side but she could not see him through her peripheral vision. All she could see was the Paopu fruit on the dresser. She wanted to grab it before Hojo attempts to destroy it.

He approached her, but since he was careless on where he was passing, he knocked off the dresser and a bookshelf and stepped on some dolls and teddy bears lying around on the floor.

The Paopu fruit landed on the floor. Samara's eyes widened when she saw that one of Hojo's feet almost stepped on it. She forgot to exhale when it almost got crushed.

"Hahahahaha! I thought that I killed you already when I threw you inside the well." He said mockingly at her.

Reno and Elena were surprised to hear that.

From outside the bedroom, Theodore, Lavinia and Kairi were just standing in the hallway, listening and watching in shock.

Samara was not listening. She just kept her eyes on the Paopu fruit, staring at it as if her life depended on it.

Hojo sneered at her, "Oh… so you're pretending not to listen again, huh? Well then looks like I'm going to have to kill your Turk friends…" he turned towards Reno and Elena.

Reno clenched his fists as he tried to squirm away from the slime holding him down, but it was no use. It was just too strong and too sticky. "Argh! Damn you, you bastard! So you were the one who kidnapped Samara!" he accused angrily.

"Why'd you have to do that to her?" Theodore asked angrily as he stepped inside, surprising everyone.

"Uh-oh…" Kairi muttered.

Hojo turned instantly to the three outside the room standing by the doorway. "So… the three other children…" he sneered.

Kairi took a step backward with fear in her eyes as she stared at Hojo's creepy smile.

"Aw, come on, Theodore… your twin sister is a freak! Do you want a freak for a twin?" Hojo asked mockingly.

"What if I tell you, _yes_, I'd love a freak for a twin sister because she's a normal freak compared to you?!" Theodore snapped before aiming one of the special shotguns that his father once used.

"You think you can kill me with that, little boy?" Hojo demanded with a mocking look on his face.

Without further ado, Theodore fired a shot, hitting one of Hojo's legs. Hojo yelped in pain and anger, and along with that was an ear-piercing sound… as if he is composed of two creatures.

"Master Theodore!" Elena exclaimed.

"Looks like we have to fight him," Lavinia declared as she clenched her fists.

Theodore nodded. "Kairi, we'll distract Hojo. You try to free Samara and get her out of here," he instructed.

"What?! Oh… alright…" Kairi replied with a nervous look on her face.

Theodore and Lavinia began to attack the monster.

Reno and Elena watched in awe as the two children began attacking the disgusting and horrible spider-like Hojo and dodging his attacks as well. "Whoa… we're gonna lose our Turk jobs in babysitting them if they know how to defend themselves!" Reno told Elena.

"Oh don't be ridiculous, Reno! Ugh…" she tried to move but cannot. She looked up at her gun. "…President Rufus isn't all about making money and running a nation. He still has time to train them with the First Lady." She explained before looking at Kairi who was trying to get the sticky mucus-like slime off Samara in one piece, but it was way too sticky. If she touched it, her hands would get stuck for a while and it would take her too much force to pull them off from the disgusting mucus. "Yuck!" she remarked before looking up at Samara when she thought she heard her grunt.

"Samara, are you alright?" she asked in worry.

Samara did not answer. She just kept on staring at the Paopu fruit with tears in her eyes. Kairi followed her gaze and saw the Paopu fruit on the floor. Her eyes widened in surprise, but before she could get it for her friend, she heard Elena calling her. "Kairi!" She instantly turned to Elena who dropped her gun to the floor. "Get it! Then Get Samara out of here! Hurry!" she instructed.

Kairi instantly went over to Elena and grabbed the gun from the floor and rushed back to Samara with a troubled look on her face… but she remembered the Paopu fruit, so she got it first before proceeding back to Samara. She handed the Paopu fruit to Samara's hand that wasn't covered with mucus. "Hang on… I'm getting you out." Kairi said before she proceeded to try to peel off the mucus from her friend.

"I… I can't breathe…" Samara declared with a trembling tone. The mucus was beginning to harden and thicken against her.

Elena and Reno were also running out of air because the same thing was happening to the slime that was on their bodies.

Hojo laughed. "That's it! There's no hope for all of you! All of you are going to die! Hahahahaha! Once the slime settles, it hardens and you'll all have a hard time breathing!" he announced with a victorious grin on his face before continuing to spit out slime as a form of defense to Theodore and Lavinia's attacks.

Kairi was not even looking, so she was just surprised when she got pinned against the wall beside Samara when the mucus hit her. "Argh!" she reacted in surprise and pain upon hitting the wall hard, while dropping the gun in the process.

Samara slowly closed her eyes when she couldn't take it anymore. Kairi's eyes widened, "No! Samara, don't close your eyes!" she commanded frantically.

But the little girl stopped breathing and the Paopu fruit slipped away from her grasp and fell to the ground.

"NO!!!" Kairi screamed.

All eyes turned to her, including Theodore and Lavinia. When Hojo caught them offguard, he instantly spit out mucus on the two children who were fighting him. "Hah!" he said mockingly at them as he watched them land on the floor and get pinned down by the mucus. "You kids are pretty good… you gave me a lot of injuries and scratches…" he said in annoyance before his body began to glow again. "Oh… just in time for the formula to lose effect…" he muttered with a relieved smile on his face.

They all watched as he transformed back into a human being, but his clothes were tattered and torn and blood was leaking out from his mouth, nose, and from bullet wounds all over his body. He laughed victoriously at them. "Now if you'll excuse me, I would like to take the children with me…" he told Reno and Elena who were already beginning to lose consciousness.

"You bastard…" Reno sneered before he completely lost consciousness.

Elena just watched with a helpless look and tears in her eyes as Hojo began to loosen the mucus off Samara's body.

"Let me first start with this horrible monster." Hojo told them with a grunt as he watched her fall freely to the floor with a loud thud, not even bothering to catch her. He smiled mockingly at the unconscious body of the little girl.

She landed face-down, her long hair covering her shoulders and her arms. She was sprawled on the floor, unmoving and lifeless… and the palm of her right hand landing on the Paopu fruit.

Hojo spit at her and sneered, "Finally this little bitch is dead. I don't even know how Tifa and Rufus could take having such a horrible child! She's so stubborn and wouldn't cooperate…" he turned to face the others, walking away from Samara and going to Theodore. "If I'm not scientific enough, I'd think that Samara is a demon's child!" he snapped at the little boy before kicking the shotgun away from his grasp. "But… anyway… I guess President Rufus is a demon… Hahahahahahahahaha!" he laughed mockingly.

His laughter continued, creeping out the others.

Kairi eyed him angrily with a hopeless look on her face before turning her gaze down to Samara who was still sprawled face-down on the floor. She thought she saw Samara's hand move and clutch the Paopu fruit. She gasped slightly.

Lavinia was watching Hojo as he continued to laugh victoriously and dementedly, but something caught her attention from the corner of her eye. She instantly turned to the teddy bears and the other dolls in one corner of the room. Her crimson eyes widened when she realized that they were all moving, getting up on their own and walking towards Hojo. She smiled slightly before turning her gaze to her sister who was still sprawled on the floor.

The TV switched on by itself and it was in static, the noise too loud, interrupting Hojo's laughter and causing him to turn to the TV. He stared curiously at it and then he was just surprised when he saw that a blank VHS tape inserted itself inside the VCR connected to the TV that was still in static.

The recording started when something began to play in the TV…

They all turned to the TV and began to watch. "What the…" Elena had managed to say.

It was Samara… inside the underground laboratory.

Hojo's eyes widened as he rushed over to the TV and tried to switch it off and unplug everything from the electrical sockets, but the show kept on running and the VCR kept on recording by itself. "Dammit, dammit, dammit!" he cursed angrily.

"Hahahaha! What's the matter, Professor? Are you afraid that President Rufus might give you a salary deduction and capital punishment if he watches that tape?" Elena asked mockingly.

Hojo glared angrily at her, "Shut up!" he snapped angrily at her… but he froze when he saw the dolls and the teddy bears coming to life, walking towards him. His eyes widened as he gasped. "What is…" he trailed off when the dolls and the teddy bears just jumped onto him and began to bite, pinch and strangle him.

He was screaming in confusion and anger as he fell to the ground. He tried to get the dolls away from himself but he couldn't. He angrily turned to Samara who was already crawling towards him, her face hidden behind her long hair. He snarled at her, "You… your parents are going to die if you try to kill me, remember?!"

She slowly got up but did not move. "I don't care anymore… you are a liar…" she said softly in her usual low monotone.

Before he could say something else, he felt his heart aching. "No… no… you can't do this to me! You are a cursed child!!! I am the only one who can end your suffering! I can help you get rid of that curse so that your mommy and daddy will love you again!" he snapped in panic, but he froze when he could already peer through her hair and saw her angry blue eyes staring down at him. His eyes widened even more, like they're ready to roll out of their sockets. "No… Samara…" he struggled to say.

Kuja turned around and stared into the horizon wide-eyed. He could feel the sudden surge of powerful energy through the sudden gust of strong wind that blew against him. "Such… such power…" he grinned victoriously before laughing happily, "Finally!!! I've found her!!!" he cheered out loud. As he did so, more than 500 Heartless appeared behind him. His grin widened. "Shall we go?" he asked before flipping his hair…

Sephiroth shuddered when he felt the strong energy coming from the direction of Costa Del Sol where they are heading.

Rufus studied the stunned look in Sephiroth's face. "What's wrong with you? Can't take flying in choppers?" he asked with a mocking tone.

Sephiroth snapped out of his trance and shook his head before rubbing his forehead with three of the fingers of his right hand. "We… we'd better hurry." He told the pilot.

"Yes, sir." The pilot replied.

Rufus frowned slightly. "Why? What's going on?" he asked.

But Sephiroth did not answer.

Riku peered outside the window of the chopper with his wide blue-green eyes. "Are we there yet?" he asked rather restlessly.

"Why are you so eager to get there immediately?" Sora asked.

Riku just kept quiet. "I'm… not even sure myself…" he said softly as he bowed down his head.

The hardening mucus slowly disappeared the moment Hojo stopped breathing. He had this look of terror on his face with his mouth opened too wide in an eternal scream. His eyes were peering into nothingness but still reflected too much fear, pain and suffering in them. He was just frozen and unmoving on the ground, his fingers positioned as if clawing the air.

Kairi and Elena fell to the ground when the mucus disappeared. "Ow!!!" Elena reacted, falling face first.

Reno slowly got up, breathing hard. "What… happened?" he asked, finally regaining consciousness.

Theodore and Lavinia also got up, feeling disgusted and weird because of the mucus.

They all stared at the pile of dolls and teddy bears around Hojo who was already dead.

Kairi shuddered. "Is… is he dead?" she asked softly.

Samara did not say anything.

"I think we'd better get the kids out of here…" Reno told Elena as he helped her up. "You're right. I…" before she could finish, the windows burst open, letting in a very strong gust of wind, surprising everyone.

"What the…" all eyes turned outside… and they were awestruck upon seeing Kuja floating in midair with a lot of Heartless scattered behind him.

"OH MY GAWD!!!???" Kairi exclaimed in shock.

Samara's face became visible when her hair got blown away from it. She stared in awe at Kuja, surprised at the situation. She thought it was all over… but it was not.

Kuja smiled slyly at her, "There you are, my pretty." He greeted with a teasing tone. She gasped slightly as she took a few steps away from him.

"What's the matter? You haven't seen a beautiful being like me before?" Kuja asked mockingly as he flipped his hair.

Samara just narrowed her eyes at him.

Lavinia made a disgusted face, "Oh yuck!!! Samara, don't tell me you know this faggot?!" she demanded.

"Eheh!?" Theodore laughed.

Kuja raised an eyebrow when he heard the insult. "F…faggot?! Why I never…" losing patience, he snapped his fingers at the Heartless. "Get them!" he commanded.

"Uh-oh…" Kairi muttered as the Heartless began to attack them.

"We have to fight them!" Lavinia declared as she did her fighting stance: putting her left foot forward and bending her knees a little as she brought her clenched fists a little close to her chest.

Theodore grabbed his shotgun and aimed at one Heartless coming right at him.

"This is going to be a loooong day." Reno muttered before he started to defend himself from five Heartless who began to attack him.

Samara, who was about to paralyze the Heartless with her mind, suddenly got interrupted by Kuja who appeared from behind her and then covered her eyes with his right hand while his left restrained her. "Ohohohohoho! Guess who?" he said in a singsong voice.

She struggled to break free from him but she could not do so because three Heartless began to help Kuja, tying her up and then putting a blindfold on her. She screeched angrily at him and it made him cringe in annoyance. "Ugh! You brat! You're going to destroy my pretty eardrums!" he snapped angrily at her.

"That's the main purpose of her screaming, you faggot!" Kairi pointed out from behind him. In surprise and annoyance, he turned to face her, but before he could react, she hit his face with her right fist, sending him down to the ground with enough force. She was in awe. "Whoa… never knew I could do that…" she muttered. But before she could do something else, a Heartless grabbed her from behind. She squirmed but could not break free as another Heartless arrived and tied her up too.

Soon, even Lavinia and Theodore had been tied to boot. Kuja's nose was bleeding but he still tried to maintain his own poise as he got up again and then flipped his hair. "Hmf! Alright, let's go!" he said arrogantly before teleporting.

"NO!" Elena tried to stop them, but there were too many Heartless holding her down. She just watched in regret as the children disappeared with the Heartless restraining them.

The remaining Heartless were still big in number, and obviously, Reno and Elena could not handle them… but before they could give up on life, they heard the awfully-familiar sound of a shotgun firing plus some familiar voices.

"What are these creatures?!"

Upon hearing the voice, Elena enlightened up, "Tifa!" she called out.

But there was another person who helped her get away from the Heartless that were trying to suffocate the air out of her. It was Sora.

He instantly killed the Heartless with his Keyblade. "Hey, ma'am, you alright?" he asked with concern.

Elena stared at him in awe. "Hey, you're Aerith's son, right?" she asked in surprise.

He raised his eyebrows at her. "Er… yeah. That's how I've been labeled by all her friends. Heheh." He said with a silly smile on his face before proceeding to fight.

_After almost two hours of fighting…_

Sephiroth collapsed to the ground in a sitting position, panting hard while still grasping his Masamune tightly. "That was… very tiring. I think I'm getting old…" he muttered.

"You are old." Cloud pointed out with a mocking look on his face.

Sephiroth waved his Masamune at him as a warning, but he just ignored him.

"Where's the stupid Wutaian Tsengker and the stupid bald-headed oaf?" Rufus demanded impatiently.

"Oh… President Rufus, sir… we don't really know but…" Elena began rather hesitantly, but she stopped when she heard Tifa cry out, "Oh my goodness!? What happened to Professor Hojo?!"

They all turned to the stiff corpse on the floor.

Tidus made a face. "How did _that_ die?" he asked in confusion.

"Miss Samara killed him." Reno explained.

"What?" Rufus asked in disbelief, turning to Reno.

"Speaking of Samara… where is she?" Sora asked, sensing that something was really wrong.

"Uh… Kuja arrived with those… black things… and… took the children with him." Elena replied with a nervous look on her face.

Silence.

Cloud, Squall, Tidus, Rufus and Sephiroth exchanged blank stares.

Riku could see the angry look on his father's face and the undeniable rage in his green eyes. "Looks like someone's gonna get spanked later on… not to mention, grounded for _five_ years!" Sephiroth declared with a sarcastic smile on his face.

"But where do you think are they?" Tidus asked with a nervous look on his face.

Sora began to think before answering, "… Dr. Valentine mentioned that Kuja's planning to use Samara so that she could serve as a human reactor for Mako energy. Maybe Kuja's looking for a place where he could get Mako."

Sephiroth narrowed his eyes at him, "Dr. Valentine?" he asked.

Cloud stepped forward, as if blocking Sephiroth's view from Sora. "Alright, this is not time for _controversies_." He muttered to Sephiroth.

"What controversies?" Sora asked curiously.

Rufus and Tifa exchanged funny smiles before turning to Riku who were eyeing them curiously. Tifa just smiled sweetly at the boy.

Sephiroth just sneered at Cloud before turning to Rufus who said, "The nearest site is by the mountains a few kilometers away from here… I'm having a new reactor built there."

Tifa's eyes widened upon hearing that. "N…no… not there…" she said softly.

"Why not?" Squall asked.

Silence.

Sephiroth was looking at Squall with a sticky stare. Squall turned to him before saying, "Why are you looking at me like that?"

Sephiroth just smiled before saying, "You look like my wife when she was younger."

Silence.

"Come now, Riku and Sora, let's step outside first." Rufus told the two, dragging them outside the room.

Reno rolled his eyes while Elena covered her mouth to stop herself from commenting.

Squall raised an eyebrow. "I… see… well, she must be… very pretty… I suppose…" he said rather uncomfortably before raking his fingers through his hair.

Sephiroth just chuckled. "Oh yes. Very pretty indeed." He replied.

Tifa cleared her throat. "As I was saying… uhm… that reactor is a dangerous place… it's not safe to go there because Mako flows freely there." She explained.

"Freely?" Tidus asked.

"Meaning, anybody without special equipment could get contaminated with Mako… and if they cannot take it… they…" Cloud trailed off.

Sephiroth and Tifa instantly remembered the mutated creatures that they have seen in the Nibelheim reactor. The latter gasped in terror. "Oh my goodness! The children!" she exclaimed.


	18. Chapter Seventeen

17 

Samara was still tied to boot and also blindfolded as she remained strapped onto a pole just beside a big hole in the ground. They could not really see what's inside the big hole, but it was glowing brightly with undeterminable color because it seemed to reflect all the colors that comes close to it.

Theodore, Lavinia and Kairi were all tied together in another pole opposite Samara.

There were a lot of Heartless surrounding the whole area which seemed like a cave.

Kuja just sat on one rock beside Samara, staring lovingly at his fingernails. "Hmf… my older sister, Jill, never had lovely fingernails such as these. She says long nails get in the way of holding guns! Hmf… What a tomboy!" he pointed out before turning to Samara's hand. "You could use a manicure, dear." He told her.

She just kept quiet. She could not really see what was going on, but the smell and the sounds she was hearing, plus the feeling of her surroundings were enough to tell her where she was and what was happening.

"Why are you doing this?" Kairi demanded from Kuja.

He turned to her. "I thought you'd never ask, Miss Kairi!" he told her before standing up. "Miss Samara here is going to help me become stronger and more powerful than anyone else in the world!" he told her.

"Like, how?" Lavinia asked with a sneer.

"With the use of Mako energy." Kuja declared before staring into the glowing hole in the ground. "My daddy's been exposed to Mako… maybe that's why he is so powerful… and maybe if I am exposed to it and I use it for my own damn purposes, I can get everything that I want… and…" his facial expression softened, "…and maybe he would pay attention to me."

Theodore raised an eyebrow upon hearing that, "Oh that is so despicable!"

Kuja turned angrily to him.

Kairi stuck out her tongue at Kuja, "Yeah, that is so lame! You just lack attention that's why you'r resorting to _violence_? Man, you need a life!" she told him with a mocking tone.

Lavinia just giggled.

"Why you little bratlings…" Kuja was about to step forward, but he remembered that if he went further, he would fall into the hole, so he stopped. "Oh damn! You almost caused my death! Hmf!" he thought angrily.

"What's the matter, girly-man? Can't handle Mako energy that's why you're using an _adaptor_?" Lavinia asked with a silly smile on her face.

"Adaptor? Where the hell do you learn such big words?" Kuja demanded.

"You don't know what an adaptor is? And to think you're older than us!" Theodore pointed out.

"I know what an adaptor is, you idiot!" Kuja snapped impatiently before flipping his hair. "I was just surprised that such young kids like you know such words already." He said.

"Oh, we belong to a different generation… probably better than yours." Kairi told him with a wink.

Silence.

"Alright, enough chitchat! Let's get down to business…" Kuja stepped onto the rock and slowly removed the blindfold from Samara.

Samara stared in awe at the glowing hole before her.

Kuja smiled slyly at her, "Alright, Samara… I want you to direct the energy into yourself." He told her.

She swallowed hard. "I don't want to."

"Why not?" Kuja asked calmly.

She did not answer.

Impatiently, Kuja pulled out something from behind him and showed it to Samara and the others. "See this?" he asked.

Samara's eyes widened upon seeing the Paopu fruit. "How did you get that?"

Kuja smiled wickedly. "None of your concern. Now, do as I say… or else…" he began digging a long fingernail into the fruit's surface. A bit of juice seeped out. "You know about the legend of the Paopu? I've heard that sick story a thousand times before… and it sickens me! But anyway, at least it's better than hearing Skurai narrating about the acorns and the cocos." He withdrew his fingernail from the Paopu. "If you take a bite out of this, and share it with Riku, you'll be together forever… but what if nobody else takes a bite out of this pathetic yellow fruit?" he asked with a sneer before forcing Samara to take a piece of the fruit in her mouth. "Eat it!" he said threateningly.

She shook her head.

"EAT IT! Or else…" Kuja mumbled.

A Heartless appeared beside Theodore and made a move to twist his neck. "Argh! Where did you come from?!" Theodore demanded in annoyance.

Samara stared helplessly at her twin brother.

"…your brother dies." Kuja warned with a playful tone.

Regretfully, Samara took a bit out of the Paopu fruit, chewed lazily on it and then swallowed it.

Kuja withrew the Paopu from her mouth and then patted her head playfully. "Good girl." He mumbled before throwing the fruit into the hole.

Samara's eyes widened.

"Oh my! It means you'll be lonely forever! Ahahahahaha!" Kuja laughed victoriously.

Kairi was staring unbelievably at Samara, watching her reaction.

Theodore was staring curiously at Samara. "Samzy… who's… Riku?" he asked.

Lavinia just blinked.

Samara just stared blankly at the glowing hole

Kuja laughed happily while raking his fingers through his hair. "Ahahahahaha! It's just her little boyfriend, Theodore." He told him before caressing Samara's cheek. "Now, now, dearie… you want the fruit back? Then do as I told you…" he whispered softly.

Lavinia clenched her fists. "NO! Don't do it!" she shouted.

The Heartless made another move to twist Theodore's neck.

"See that, Samara? If you disobey, the more you'll be alone. Everyone is going to die just because of your stubbornness… not just your friends and your twin and your sister… but also your mommy and your daddy." Kuja said with a teasing tone.

Her eyes grew wide upon hearing the last few words.

"Yes, Samara… your mommy and your daddy." Kuja waved his hand across her line of vision gracefully as if hypnotizing her, "Imagine… it's so easy to kill your mommy but I can't understand why my dad wasn't able to do it many years ago… You've heard about it, right? And the fact that your daddy is a ShinRa? Why are you still struggling to protect the ShinRa name?" he asked playfully.

She swallowed hard. She could not stop seeing the horrible visions, from the past way back from when she was not even born yet, in her thoughts all of a sudden.

She looked over to Theodore. She knew one more wrong move, the Heartless would break his neck into two. She knew she had no choice… for now.

Kairi, Lavinia and Theodore gasped in horror as Samara started absorbing the Mako's energy. All the glowing matter in the Mako slowly dimmed until it was just a pile of rock.

Kuja giggled evilly as Samara began glowing with pure energy. Her eyes glowed a sinister glow, making them light up brighter than even Cloud's eyes.

Theodore, Lavinia and Kairi could only watch desperately as Samara started choking. "She's in pain…" Lavinia muttered sadly.

Sure enough, a stream of blood escaping from Samara's long sleeves caught eveybody's eye. More wounds formed out of nowhere as the girl tried to contain all the energy inside her body.

Kuja smiled. "Good girl," he said, patting her head fondly, while his other hand swiftly untied her from the post. He caught her in his arms before she could fall into the pit.

The Heartless moved away from Theodore as he gave them an angry glare. "See what you've done?! Now what are you going to do, you faggot?" he yelled.

Kuja gave him a teasing look. "Where did you pick up such foul language? Oh well," he said, shifting his gaze to Samara, who looked as if her mind was unaware of the physical world. "You are such a beautiful girl… it shall be easy to do the next phase."

"Next phase?" Kairi asked nervously.

"What are you planning to do, you megalomaniac?!" Lavinia screeched. "Can't you see that Samara's suffered enough?"

"Still haven't suffered enough." Kuja sneered. "Besides, your sister's got a very powerful mind. Don't you think that maybe she could just be thinking that this is all in the mind and not actually happening?" he asked before eyeing Samara with a seductive look on his face. "Now… how the bloody hell will I get my share of Mako energy?" he asked as his grip tightened around her.

She just bowed down her head, letting her hair cover her glowing pale face. "Don't hide your pretty face away from me, Samara." He said as he brushed off her hair off her face.

Theodore gasped when he saw that Samara's face had deep wounds on it and she was really bleeding.

Samara looked up at Kuja with a weakened stare. He smiled at her. "Now, kiss me…" he told her.

"Oh YUCK!!!!!" Kairi and Lavinia both reacted in unison.

Theodore's jaw dropped.

"OH MY GAWD!!!??? I thought you're gay?!" Kairi snapped at Kuja.

He turned to her with a sneer, "Aw, shaddup, you bloody…" he trailed off, remembering his purpose, and then turned to Samara again, smiling sweetly at her. "Alright, where were we… ah." He slowly leaned his face towards hers as he lifted her off the ground by holding onto her arms… but he froze when he heard a commanding voice shouting at him, "NO! KUJA! Stop that!"

Kuja's eyes widened. "D…daddy?" he thought silently.

Sephiroth slashed the two Heartless that blocked his way with his Masamune. "You moron! What the #$% are you doing? Are you a pedophile?" he demanded angrily.

Kuja did not move, as if he did not hear anything. He was tired of those harsh words… he just felt numb whenever he heard them.

Riku appeared from behind his father, staring at the whole scenario with wide eyes. Sora had the same reaction.

"Idiot! You're going to kill her!" Sephiroth snapped at him.

"That's the main idea, dad." Kuja said softly.

"Your body cannot support such power! Can't you understand that?! You'll die too!" Sephiroth yelled angrily at him.

Kuja just stiffened. "There's nothing you can do to stop me, dad." He muttered before proceeding.

Unable to think of anything else, Riku just pushed his father aside (because he was blocking his way) with enough force due to sudden adrenaline rush and then ran as fast as he could to Kuja and Samara, clutching his Keyblade tightly with his right hand. He had a very angry look on his face as he decided to throw the Keyblade to Kuja, hitting his head.

Clunk.

The sound of metal hitting bone.

"ARGH!" Kuja shrieked as he accidentally let go of Samara and then fell down to the ground. She fell to the ground, her hair covering her face as she struggled to crawl away from Kuja. She stopped when Riku picked her up from the ground and saw her face.

Cloud's eyes widened upon seeing the look on her face and the bloodstains on her white dress. "Oh damn… Rufus is going to murder you, Sephiroth…" he muttered to Sephiroth.

"Yeah. And Tifa is going to wring your son's neck." Tidus said while trying to control his laughter, but still laughed.

"Will you stop laughing!? We're in big trouble now!" Squall snapped at him, surprising him.

Sephiroth was gritting his teeth in annoyance. "KUJA!!!!!" he yelled angrily.

Kuja just let out a victorious laugh. "There's nothing you can do now, daddy! This is the path that I've chosen… and I'm blaming _you_ for it!" he declared with a demented look on his face… the kind of look that reminded Cloud of the old Sephiroth.

Sephiroth's eyes widened upon hearing that, but he was not able to say anything else.

Kuja slowly got up from the ground, dusting himself as he snapped his fingers to serve as a signal for the Heartless to start attacking the intruders before turning back to Samara. He gasped when he saw Riku holding her. "You! What are you doing!? Let her go!" he snapped angrily at him.

Riku turned to him, eyeing him angrily before turning back to Samara with a solemn look on his face.

She felt so dizzy that she could not see clearly anymore, but she could still see his bluegreen eyes staring back at her. Unable to take the pain anymore, she just closed her eyes, but before she could lose consciousness, she felt something press against her lips.

Kuja's eyes widened in awe. "NOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!" he screamed in anger.

Sephiroth stopped attacking the Heartless and instantly turned his gaze to Riku and Samara… "WHAT THE---?! WHY ARE YOU KISSING THAT GIRL?!" Sephiroth demanded to Riku.

But Riku does not seem to be listening to anyone anymore.

Sora jaw-dropped when he saw what Riku was doing to Samara.

Kairi, Theodore and Lavinia were also stunned.

Tidus chuckled. "Cool! Puppy love!" he mumbled under his breath.

Apalled, Sephiroth punched all the Heartless that attempted to block his way going to Riku. He grabbed Riku by the shoulders and pulled him away from Samara. "What are you doing?! You'll be poisoned by Mako!" he yelled at him.

Samara fell on the ground, almost lifeless. She still glowed with the Mako energy inside her.

Riku fell on the ground, covering his eyes. "I… I can't see!... Agh…" he was yelling in agony.

Sephiroth went over to his son and pulled his hands away from the face… and what he saw made his heart sink.

Cloud and Sora ran to Sephiroth and Riku, and what they saw made them freeze.

Kuja growled angrily and rushed to them. He formed an ice shard that covered his right arm, and swung it like a sword. "GET AWAY FROM HIM! I'll get the power from myself!" He lunged forward to stab the shard towards Sephiroth, but it clanged against metal.

Tidus had blocked his way with his sword. "No way, man! You'll have to fight us first!" he said as Squall readied his gunblade too.

Kuja snarled at them. "Stupid maggots, getting in the way!" he cast a spell that was meant to blow them up, but the two swordsmen were still standing. Kuja growled in irritation.

"Eheheheheheh! Tell you what, Kuja, I think that spell's only good enough to blow up a person that's _half our size_. If you know what I mean…" Tidus teased.

Squall smiled at him. "Yes, yes. It's Zidane." He replied.

Kuja inhaled sharply. "Must… not… get… distracted…" he was muttering to himself.

"Hey, looky, Squally! He's distracted! What's that mean? You should know! Eheheheh!" Tidus laughed out loud.

Squall got what he meant and growled under his breath, "I am not gay…"

"Didn't say nothing! Eheheh!"

At Tidus' statement, Kuja's self-control broke. "THAT'S IT! Filthy laughing hyena boy! DIE!!!" With that, Kuja transformed into his Trance mode: the red-haired and extremely angry Genome.

Cloud and Sora both turned to Kairi, Lavinia and Theodore. "Sora, get them out of here." Cloud instructed. "Yes, dad." Sora replied before rushing towards the three, fighting a few Heartless on his way.

As soon as he got there, he asked them, "You guys alright?"

"Yes but… what happened to Riku?" Kairi asked with a worried look on her face.

"I don't even know! But we really have to get out of here, fast!" Sora told her.

"What about Samara?" Theodore asked.

"I…" Sora was about to answer, but he was interrupted when Lavinia just shrieked because of the too many Heartless rushing at them.

"OH MY GAWD!!!!?????" Kairi exclaimed.

"Ready now!" Theodore aimed his shotgun at the Heartless.

Lavinia clenched her fists.

Kairi just stepped backward. "Oh no…" she mindlessly reached for her back pocket and felt something there. She pulled out a small pouch and took a peek inside. She gasped. "Shurikens?" she asked out loud.

"Huh?" Sora asked, turning to her.

"Then use those!" Lavinia instructed before they began to attack the Heartless.

Kairi was a bit clueless on how to use the Shurikens, but she remembered that before she left Midgar to go to Nibelheim, her father gave her that, telling her, "These are your mom's. I guess she left them here for you. Take them. You're going to need to use it sooner or later anyway."

Determined, she began to recall how she saw her mother throwing those at her father whenever she would be mad at him and yelling curses in Wutaian language. And her father would be yelling, "IT'S SO UNFAIR!"

Although afraid, Kairi gave it her best shot and threw her first shuriken at one of the Heartless coming at her. It did the trick! And even went through the Heartless that she was able to destroy, and went around, destroying more of the Heartless.

"Whoa! Cool!" Sora cheered.

Kairi felt relieved. Finally, she can do something.

Meanwhile, Kuja was already having a fight with Squall and Tidus.

Cloud knelt down before Samara and gently lifted her almost lifeless body from the ground, but she groggily opened her eyes and pushed him away from herself, surprising him. Cloud saw that her blue eyes were still glowing Mako blue. She closed them again as she slowly got up on her own and took a few small shaky steps towards the big hole in the ground. "Samara, where are you…" he trailed off when she fell down to the ground. As she landed, the chain of her necklace snapped and the pendant fell to the ground. Cloud rushed over to her and helped her up, but she refused. She fell back to the ground, her whole body trembling and her eyes giving off a blank stare. She began to crawl towards the hole.

Cloud just observed her quietly before noticing the heart-shaped pendant on the ground. He instantly got it and stared at the ShinRa logo, then flipped it to the other side and saw small inscriptions. He frowned slightly. "What is this?" he thought. He turned back to the little girl again and he almost said out loud, "Holy shit!!!" when he saw that she was going to make herself fall into the hole.

"NO! Samara!" Cloud instantly rushed to her and managed to hold onto her foot as she plunged down the hole…

Unfortunately, the area around the pit was muddy. Cloud slipped and fell in with Samara.

In desperation, he embraced Samara as they fell. "Don't open your eyes!" he cried out loud. He felt Samara grip his wrist tightly… and then there was this burning warmth coming from her palm going through his wrist. He cringed in pain… and when he could not take it anymore, he cried out in pain and eyed her. She was staring back at him with angry blue eyes… His eyes widened at her. She smiled.

And the last thing Cloud saw was this blinding light coming from behind her.

Sephiroth turned around when he heard Cloud scream.

Riku was still crying, his eyes closed as he held onto his father. "Dad… my eyes hurt…" he groaned helplessly.

"Shit… Mako poisoning…" Sephiroth muttered under his breath. He knew he had to get Riku to a specialist …someone familiar with Mako and Jenova… and all he could think of was his mother.

"Dad… please stop Kuja. I don't want him hurting anyone," Riku begged.

Sephiroth frowned as he narrowed his eyes at him. He slowly let go of his son and got up, clutching his Masamune tightly before turning to the area where most of the fighting was occurring. "You hang on in there for a while, Riku. And don't you dare die there! I don't want your mother yelling at me for not taking care of you!" he told him.

Riku smiled slightly at what he said. "Yeah…" he replied weakly.

Cloud slowly opened his eyes and gazed around the area. His eyes widened in confusion. "Wh…where am I?" he thought silently as he eyed the whole room. It had red wallpaper, white wall borders and maroon carpet. He could hear someone singing…

A child.

He searched the whole area but all he could see were furniture for a girl's room. A big canopy bed with white curtains and white beddings… a dollhouse… teddy bears and a lot of dolls.

And seated in one corner of the room was a little girl with long black hair holding a teddy bear. The moment Cloud looked at her, she stopped singing and she smiled at him. She instantly got up and rushed to him, showing her the teddy bear. It had no eyes. "Do you love my bear?" she asked innocently.

Cloud blinked. "H…huh?" he responded.

"Do you love my bear?" she asked sweetly.

It was Samara.

Then, the door opened and there was Rufus entering with the usual stiff facial expression on his face.

"Daddy!" Samara cheered happily before rushing to her father. For the first time, Cloud saw Rufus stare at someone with care.

"Hello, sweetheart," Rufus greeted, which surprised Cloud. He had never really heard Rufus mention any words of endearment to anyone else aside from Tifa.

"Daddy! Look! There's a man by the window!" Samara told him.

Rufus raised his eyebrows at her. "What?" he asked before turning to the window. He seemed to be looking at Cloud, but he had this skeptical look on his face before turning back to Samara. "I don't see anyone, Samara." He told her.

Samara blinked. "You don't?" she asked. And she turned to Cloud again.

Cloud smiled weakly at her.

She smiled back at him. "Heehee!" and then turned back to Rufus. "He doesn't love my bear." She told him.

Rufus chuckled lightly… an action that Cloud thought was out of character when it comes to Rufus.

"But I love your bear. Mommy loves your bear too." Rufus told her reassuringly.

"Really?" she asked sweetly with a happy smile on her face.

Cloud just silently watched with a confused look on his face. "What is this?" he asked.

"You want to know what this is?" a low monotonous voice of a little girl asked from behind him. He instantly realized that someone was still holding his wrist. He turned around and saw another Samara.

She was looking up at him with sadness in her eyes. She used her free hand to force one of his palms open… and revealed to him that he was clutching the pendant with the inscriptions facing them. "You want to know more?" she asked.

He just stared unbelievably at her.

And the area just seemed to glow brighter and brighter… until he could not see anything anymore.

He closed his eyes.

And when he opened them again, he saw that he was in an operating room-like place. He saw that Rufus was standing outside the door, looking at someone…

Cloud turned around and saw that Tifa was lying on an operating table. There were two doctors, and one nurse. He recognized the two doctors: Hojo and Lucrecia.

Lucrecia had her back to Hojo while preparing the anesthesia. "Nurse, can you assist me here," she told the nurse. The nurse approached her.

While they were busily preparing the anesthesia, Hojo was doing something else… he was getting something from his pocket.

Cloud's eyes narrowed at him.

Tifa was already yelling in pain.

Lucrecia turned back to her. "Oh here we go! Heehee! Sorry 'bout that, Mrs. ShinRa!" she said with an apologetic smile on her face before injecting the anesthesia into the I.V.

After a few moments, Tifa was already asleep.

"Does President Rufus know that she's gonna have twins?" the nurse whispered excitedly as Lucrecia turned back from Tifa.

Lucrecia just giggled. "I don't think so. But it's going to be a surprise!" she whispered back.

Cloud just stared in horror as Hojo brought out another syringe and placed inside the pocket of his jacket that was more accessible for him.

Tifa opened her eyes again.

"Oh hello. How do you feel?" Hojo asked her.

She smiled weakly. "N…numb." She mumbled.

"That's alright. We can't give you a G.A. so we just gave you something that will make your lower body numb so you wouldn't feel any pain. Now when we say 'push', you push, alright?" Lucrecia asked.

Tifa nodded nervously.

Cloud observed as the delivery began, but then he decided to look at the little girl standing beside him, who was still holding his wrist tightly. She was staring angrily at someone… and it was Hojo.

Cloud just turned back to the others again when he heard two babies crying.

Tifa exclaimed, "Oh my goodness! They're twins!"

Lucrecia laughed happily, "Surprise!" she said.

"You didn't tell me when I had my ultrasound?" Tifa asked.

"It's supposed to be a surprise!" Lucrecia explained.

And to Cloud's horror, he saw Hojo inject the contents of the syringe into the newborn baby girl's arm.

The baby seemed to shriek, surprising Lucrecia, Tifa and the nurse.

Hojo instantly stopped injecting JENOVA cells into the baby and hid the syringe again in his pocket.

"Hojo, what are you doing?!" Lucrecia demanded angrily at him.

"Uh… nothing. Just checking for abnormalities." Hojo replied.

She instantly walked over to him and snatched the baby away from him. "I'm not allowing you to touch her." She sneered.

Cloud looked outside from the window of the door, but saw that Rufus was already talking to someone… Tseng. Rufus was yelling at him, "Well then go tell them that I'm canceling the meeting! Can't you see that my wife's giving birth?!"

Cloud realized that nobody saw what Hojo had done to the baby girl.

Samara bowed down her head as tears fell from her eyes… Cloud turned back to her. "Samara…" he said softly.

Cloud opened his eyes when he heard noises from above him… He instantly sat up and looked up. He groaned in annoyance when he realized that the hole wasn't even _that _deep… a person as tall as Sephiroth could easily jump off from the inside the hole and then out of it… but unfortunately, he's not as tall as Sephiroth.

He realized that Samara was still holding his wrist tightly so he gently removed her hand around his wrist… and saw that her hand left a hand-shaped burn around his wrist. "Yikes!" he exclaimed in surprise as he moved away from her. He was panting hard. "What was that I saw… was it a dream?" he thought. Then he felt that he was holding something else… and he opened his palm and saw that the pendant was still there. Slowly, he returned his gaze back to Samara… she was still lying on her stomach on the ground… and she was holding this star-shaped object with her right hand.

The Paopu fruit.

Kuja glowered at his opponents. "Dad… you've decided to fight me too…" he growled.

Sephiroth stared at him coldly, gripping the Masamune in one hand. Somehow, Kuja had managed to injure his own father… and it really made his father very angry. "Alright… looks like you're gonna be grounded for life!" Sephiroth snarled angrily at him.

"Go ahead! I don't care! You never even gave a damn about me!" Kuja snapped with a hurtful look on his face.

Squall and Tidus blinked. "Is this about family?" the latter demanded.

Squall scratched his head. "If this is just another family matter, I'm getting out of here! This is so lame!" he told them.

"What does it look like to you, a battle between me and Zidane?! Nah-uh!" Kuja snapped as he flipped his own hair. "This is because of daddy! This father is not the greatest father alive! I don't know what I ever did to him but… but he hates me!!! He doesn't even care what happens to me!!!"

"What?! What the hell are you talking about? I treat everyone of my children equally!" Sephiroth snapped back.

"Oh yeah?!" Kuja said, stomping one foot forward. "I bet you didn't even notice that I was captured by Hojo, because you never bother to look for me in the house! And my horrible siblings know that you ignore me… they pity me, but bother me anyway… Only Jilly and mommy ever cared about me in that home…" he said, almost bursting in tears.

"Oh my god." Squall said, not being a fond listener of the lamentations of a whiny ignored child.

Sephiroth just stood dumbfounded as Kuja continued, "But mommy always seemed to have problems of her own and have these hysteria attacks… and Jilly began seeing Carlos, and I never had anybody to talk to… and worse, Dante seemed to bully me even more… and Skurai didn't want to hang around me… and Riku moved to Destiny Islands…" he sniffled. "And I didn't want to move back to Gaia because that horrid Zidane still lives there!"

Tidus wanted to laugh out loud at the way Kuja's dramatizing everything, so he held back his laughter and ended up snorting.

"So… Daddy…. It's all YOUR fault that I wanted to destroy Planet! YOU! Understand! HAHAHAH! How does it feel to be the primary reason of the Planet's demise! AHAHAHAH…"

Chomp.

Silence.

"AAAAARGH! LET GO OF ME!!!!!" Kuja began to scream.

Sephiroth and the others were in awe when they saw Lavinia's jaws were locked onto Kuja's right arm and even when he was already swinging it so that she would let go of it, she just bit harder.

"Oh! That's just her way of saying hello! Eheheheh!" Theodore pointed out gleefully.

Squall raised an eyebrow.

Tidus laughed at the situation.

Sephiroth scratched his head.

Riku could not really see clearly but he could hear them. He smiled slightly before finally losing consciousness.

Sephiroth took Lavinia's biting of Kuja's arm as an opportunity to finally sieze him. He grabbed Kuja by the other arm and that's when Lavinia let go of him and kicked him where the sun doesn't shine.

"AAARGH! OF ALL THE PLACES, WHY THERE?!?!?" Kuja demanded angrily at her.

"Nyah-nyah! Look what you've done to my pink dress! This is my favorite! You dirtied it when you tied me up on that dirty pole over there! ARGH! You should've disinfected it with alcohol before you tied me up there! It's soooo disgusting! Yeeech!" Lavinia sneered angrily at him.

Sephiroth dragged his son over to one of the rocks and he sat down angrily, placing Kuja over his lap and began to spank his butt. Kuja yelped in pain. "Ow! DAD?!" he cried out as tears filled his eyes.

"That's what you get for attempting to do such a stupid thing! You ingrate!" Sephiroth spanked him again.

Kuja began to cry.

Lavinia was dusting herself. "Hmf! Guess I'll have to buy another one." She muttered frustratingly as Theodore, Sora and Kairi approached her. "Are you alright?" Kairi asked with a weak smile on her face.

"Are you sure you didn't give him rabies?" Sora asked her.

Lavinia just smiled sweetly. "Nope!"

"Hey!" they were interrupted when they heard Cloud's voice from the hole.

Sora, Squall and Tidus rushed over to the hole and peeked inside. They saw Cloud carrying Samara in his arms. He smiled weakly at them. "A little help, please?" he asked.


	19. Chapter Eighteen

**18 **

* * *

"Okay, just keep your eyes closed…" Lucrecia said softly as she wrapped a bandage around Riku's head, covering his eyes.

Riku was just quiet.

Sephiroth just sat down by the bed, his arms crossed as he watched.

Afterwards, Lucrecia got a black shred of cloth and wrapped it around Riku's head, covering the white bandage and then knotting it behind the head.

"What is that for?" Vincent asked.

"So that the light wouldn't seep through. He's still very sensitive to the light." Lucrecia explained.

Sora examined Riku's current physical state and he felt pity for his best friend. "He looks like a Ninja Turtle," he remarked to Kairi.

Kairi giggled softly.

Riku turned his head to the direction where Kairi and Sora were seated when he heard them talking. "Who's there?" he asked.

The two fell silent.

Sephiroth got up and went to Riku, clutching his shoulders gently. "Riku," he began.

Riku turned his head to where he heard Sephiroth's voice. "Yes?" he asked.

Sephiroth hesitated for a while before answering, "Can… can you remember daddy?" he asked.

Lucrecia smiled gently before turning to Vincent with a hurtful look on her face, "It's alright… he will remember everything when the right time comes. His eyes will eventually heal… but it might take a very long time." She explained.

Vincent's eyes widened at her. "How long?" he asked.

She shrugged. "Maybe years… he was poisoned by Mako and he wasn't able to handle it well…" she replied, bowing down her head.

"Wh… what about Samara?" Rufus asked. He was just standing by the doorway.

Lucrecia turned to him. "She's…going to be alright. Just shaken. Her eyes might give off some strange glows once in a while like Cloud's eyes…" and turned to Riku again. "Thanks to Riku for saving Samara. If it wasn't for him, she could've been dead by now." She said softly.

Rufus turned to Riku.

Squall and Tidus exchanged looks before the latter turned to Cloud and whispered, "You didn't tell this rich kid that Riku kissed his daughter?"

Cloud nudged him with an elbow. "Maybe after ten years." He muttered.

Riku bowed down his head. "What's my name?" he asked.

Silence.

Vincent slowly got up and just left the room.

Sephiroth turned to Lucrecia. She frowned slightly, "In time, Sephiroth… he will remember everything. He just needs some time to relax." She said.

Sephiroth nodded.

"So what's your plan?" Cloud asked him.

Sephiroth thought for a while before saying, "I'm taking him back to Destiny Island where he could relax… and I guess I'll stay there with him for a while… and take Kuja with me."

"Why would you even take Kuja with you?" Squall asked.

"Part of his punishment." Sephiroth replied with a silly smile on his face before helping Riku out of the bed. "Watch your step." He told him.

Riku nodded. "Are you going to help me walk, dad?" he asked.

Sephiroth nodded. "Yeah. Of course, son." He replied with a solemn smile on his face.

* * *

Samara was just seated on her hospital bed, staring into empty space as she held onto the Paopu fruit.

Tifa was just standing by the window with a soft smile on her face. "At least you're alright now..." she thought.

"Mommy!"

Tifa turned to the door when she heard her eldest daughter's voice. "Morrigan!" she greeted.

The green-haired woman rushed inside the room without closing the door to hug her mother. Tifa gently stroked her daughter's green hair, "You know, if your father sees that hair, he might force you to wash it out so that it'll be blonde again." She said.

"Ohohoho! Don't worry mommy. Maybe as long as I'm not wearing my green contacts, I guess daddy wouldn't mind… Ohohoho! Besides, I just came from a shoot." Morrigan explained before turning to Samara who was looking at her curiously. She smiled sweetly at her. "Samara!" she said as she approached her.

Samara did not even smile as if she was not able to recognize her own sister.

Tifa sighed heavily when she saw the blank stare in her daughter's eyes. "I'm sorry, Morrigan… she's been poisoned by Mako… but… her memory will come back sooner or later." She said.

"Yeah, I heard what happened so I came back here to Midgar as soon as I heard about it." Morrigan said softly before letting go of Samara and then examining the look on her face. She smiled gently and caressed her cheek. "Pretty, pretty little sis." She said sweetly before the Paopu fruit caught her attention. "Oh, what's this?" she asked.

Tifa approached them. "I'm… not really sure what it is…" she replied with a weak smile on her face.

Theodore stepped inside. "Morrie!" he greeted.

Morrigan turned to face her younger brother, "Theo!" she exclaimed as they embraced. After they had let go of one another, he turned to his mother, "Mom, Mister Sephiroth's leaving for Destiny Island. He's taking Riku with him and I guess he's staying there until he regains his memory back. Kuja's also coming with them." He explained.

Tifa blinked. "Oh… that's good to hear. Maybe Kuja can already bond with his dad too." She said with a smile on her face.

Morrigan, Tifa and Theodore continued to talk while Samara just continued to stare into empty space.

Cloud entered the room, interrupting the conversation. Morrigan smiled at him, "Hello Mister Strife!" she greeted cheerfully.

Cloud blinked upon seeing Morrigan, feeling a little intimidated by her height (she's unbelievably taller than him). "Oh well… she's a model and an actress so…" he thought silently to himself before nodding his head in greeting, "Hello." He greeted before turning to Tifa. "Rufus is talking to Sephiroth, Vincent and Lucrecia… so I guess I'll just have to return this to you." He told her as he showed her the pendant.

Tifa blinked and took it. "Oh… thank you, Cloud. Where did you get this?" she asked.

"Samara was wearing it." He replied.

She nodded. "It's hers, actually." She said with a smile on her face before turning to Morrigan, "Would you do me a favor and run to a jewelry store? Buy a silver chain long enough for Samara." She told her.

Morrigan smiled. "Sure, mom!" and left.

Cloud stepped forward to Samara, examining her glowing blue mako eyes. He raised an eyebrow. "Well… I guess she'll be alright. Just don't let her get flung off a wheelchair if you're getting her out of the hospital." He joked.

Tifa slapped his back with too much force that he almost fell onto the bed. "That is not a good joke, Cloud Strife." She snapped.

He just laughed.

"Hey, seems like you two are already laughing about some stuff." Aerith said as she entered with a basket of flowers.

"Oh, hi, Aerith!" Tifa greeted cheerfully.

"Just cracking Mako-related jokes." Cloud told her.

"No actually, he's blaming me for getting flung off a wheelchair several years ago when he experienced Mako poisoning." Tifa pointed out with a glum look on her face.

"And you even lied to me. You told me that I…"

"Alright, alright! Enough already!" Tifa snapped at him with a blush on her face.

Aerith giggled. "That's enough, you two." She said.

"Honestly, Aerith, you should tell your husband to stop insulting the First Lady." Tifa muttered to her with a mean smile on her face before flipping her hair and then took the basket of flowers and placed it by the window.

"You're beginning to act and sound like Rufus." Aerith and Cloud both said in unison.

Theodore was just seated by the window, sniffing the flowers. He laughed.

"Oh, it looks like Theodore likes those flowers. Thanks, Aerith." Tifa said.

"I figured those flowers could make someone happy." Aerith said with a sweet smile on her face.

As the adults continued to talk, Samara slowly turned her gaze outside the door when she noticed that some people were passing by.

It was Sephiroth who was assisting Riku in walking down the hallway.

Samara just stared blankly at Riku with the blindfold, and when they disappeared out of her sight, that's when she spoke up, "R…Riku?"

All eyes turned to her. Even Theodore stopped laughing and sniffing the flowers.

Tears fell from her eyes as she continued to stare blankly into empty space. "Riku," she said.

Tifa approached her and embraced her, "Oh, Samara, what's wrong?" she asked.

"Who are you? Where is Riku?" Samara asked.

Tifa's eyes widened. "Wh…what?" she asked.

Cloud just shook his head in frustration.

Aerith smiled sadly at Tifa as she approached her. "Tifa, don't worry… this will pass." She said softly.

Cloud just watched them quietly before deciding to step out of the room for a while. He saw Rufus seated by the door outside the room. "So you heard." Cloud began.

Rufus just nodded silently.

Cloud sat down beside him on the couch. "Have you informed Tifa about the JENOVA cells in Samara?" he asked in a low tone.

Rufus nodded with a stiff look on his face. "But the rest of the world shouldn't know. The media is already having a holiday with all the strange things that had passed." He explained before turning to Cloud. "What about you? You're going to Destiny Island too?" he asked.

Cloud shook his head. "Nah. I'll stay here. Besides, this is the City where Sora is born. I think it's about time he gets familiar with this place…" he replied with a slight smile on his face.

"I see." Rufus flipped his hair. "Well then, maybe you are interested in taking a job in my Company?" he asked.

Cloud just blinked. "Huh? Like what?" he asked.

"Say… External Vice President?" Rufus asked with a sly smile on his face.

Cloud thought for a while before saying, "How much is the pay?" he asked.

"Your starting pay is 500,000 Gil. Is that fine with you?" Rufus asked.

Cloud's jaw dropped. "But… why me?" he asked.

"I figured that my executives should be someone that I could trust." Rufus said before patting his shoulder, "I also would like to thank you for saving my daughter's life." He said with a stiff look on his face, although in his eyes, Cloud could see that he was grateful.

Cloud nodded and smiled slightly. "Alright. 500,000 Gil is fine with me." He replied.

* * *

Riku turned his head back towards the Sector 1 Hospital's direction even though he could not see anything. He thought he felt someone touch his cheeks from behind him.

Sephiroth stopped walking. "Anything wrong?" he asked.

Riku just kept quiet and bowed down his head.

Sephiroth looked back at the hospital with a curious look on his face before shrugging. "Let's go. Gotta reach Destiny Island before it gets dark. It's hard to travel by sea if it's already past sunset." He told him before they proceeded to walk going to the Parking Lot.

On their way to the car, Sephiroth saw that a purple convertible was parked beside his black convertible. Morrigan was seated on the driver's seat of the purple car and was talking to someone on her mobile phone. When she saw Sephiroth, she smiled cheerfully at him and then told the person on the other line, "Yes, I'll be canceling photoshoots and Press Conferences for the next three weeks. I'm taking a vacation with my parents. Besides, my sister is sick, I have to take care of her, 'ayt? Okay, bye," and hung up before turning to Sephiroth. "Hello, _Uncle _Sephiroth!" she greeted.

"Hello, Morrigan." Sephiroth greeted with a slight smile on his face. "Has your father seen you already?" he asked, wanting to know Rufus's reaction when he sees his daughter with green hair again.

Morrigan giggled. "Heehee! Not yet. I'm doing an errand for mom. I have to go to the jewelry store and buy some chain for Samara's necklace… then I'm going to the hair salon to have this green dye rinsed off my locks before I face daddy. Heehee!" she explained with a sheepish look on her face.

Sephiroth laughed at what she said, "Good idea, Morrigan." He told her with a wink. She, then, turned to look at Riku. "He must be Riku, the guy who saved Samzy?" she asked with a sweet smile on her face.

"Yeah. But… I don't think he can recognize anyone right now…" Sephiroth said with a hard tone, but he was still smiling slightly as he patted Riku's head.

They were interrupted when they heard some excited woman's voice greeting them, "Hey!!!"

Morrigan and Sephiroth turned to Yuffie who was approaching them with Kairi and Zack following from behind her.

Sephiroth frowned upon seeing Zack.

Zack just ignored him.

"Oh, Riku, how are you?" Kairi asked, approaching her friend.

Riku moved away from her and hid behind his father.

"What's wrong with him?" Zack asked.

"Mako poisoning." Sephiroth replied simply.

Zack just nodded with a skeptical look on his face.

"So… where's Vinny?" Yuffie asked curiously.

"He's… with my mom. I think they're talking to Squall and Tidus." Sephiroth told her.

Yuffie blinked. "Squall?" she asked in confusion.

"Leon." Kairi and Sephiroth both corrected in unison.

Silence.

"Oh! Teeheeheehee! I see!" Yuffie said with a sheepish look on her face.

Kairi was eyeing Riku with a sad smile on her face. "Well… I guess you can't remember me…" she just said softly.

"Don't worry, Kairi. His memory will eventually return but it will take some time…" Sephiroth said with a hard look on his face.

"…a lot of time." Zack added while eyeing the boy.

Riku just bowed down his head.

"And Samara?" Yuffie asked, turning to Morrigan with a smile on her face.

"She's in suite 1501. It's in the Children's Ward." Morrigan replied as she started the engine of her car. "Well, better get out of here fast. Adieu!" she waved goodbye to them before zooming off… and almost hitting Zack.

"Hey!" Zack exclaimed.

"Sorry, sir!" Morrigan called out before laughing.

Zack just snorted while shaking his head in disbelief. "Reckless driver…" he muttered miserably.

"I'm taking Riku to Destiny Island so that he could rehabilitate himself. Kuja's also coming with us as part of his punishment for almost wrecking the Planet and putting Samara and Riku's lives in grave danger." Sephiroth said before reaching for his pocket to get the keys.

"Really?" Kairi asked in awe.

"Yeah but don't worry, we'll be returning here when he's already okay." Sephiroth said reassuringly. Kairi just nodded. "Alright." She said softly.

"Well, I guess we'll be going upstairs now. See ya 'round, Sephy!" Yuffie waved goodbye to him before taking Kairi's hand and led the way to the entrance of the hospital. Zack followed after them, not even bothering to bid Sephiroth goodbye.

Sephiroth began to search for the keys in his other pockets, but couldn't find them. "Dammit! The keys must be with Vinny…" he muttered miserably before reaching for his mobile phone to call Vincent.

* * *

Cloud was seated outside Samara's hospital room with Rufus, Squall and Tidus.

"Thanks for the help, you two." Rufus told Squall and Tidus.

"Eheheh. No problem, Prez." Tidus replied with a cheerful smile on his face.

Squall shrugged. "Well, I guess it's time for me to go back to the Garden now… and fly back to Balamb. We'll have a lot of cleaning to do." He told them.

"What about you, Tidus?" Cloud asked.

Tidus thought for a while. "Well… my homeland's really been destroyed by that girly-man… and it might take a while before we could rebuild it so…" he began.

"I'll send over some of my crew to inspect it and help you with the reconstruction." Rufus told him.

Silence.

"Really?!" Tidus asked in awe.

"As a form of thanks. Also to Balamb, Squall." Rufus said reassuringly even if he had a stiff look on his face.

Tidus laughed joyfully before giving Rufus a friendly hug and patting his back like they're buddies. "Wahahahaha!!! Thanks a lot, Ruffy! You're such a good buddy! Maybe sometime you could join me and the others in a party?" he asked happily.

Cloud eyed Rufus warningly to be kind to Tidus. Rufus just laughed lightly before pushing Tidus away from himself and then flipped his hair. "Alright, alright. Don't get too close to me. You smell like the sea." He said with a mocking tone, but he had a facial expression that told them that he was only joking.

* * *

"Theodore," Tifa said.

The little boy with strawberry-blonde hair and crimson eyes turned to his mother with an inquiring but cheerful stare.

"I'll just go to the cafeteria with Mrs. Strife, alright? You want anything?" she asked.

Theodore just shook his head. "No thanks, mom. I had a chocolate bar before coming here." He said with a smile.

With that, Tifa gave him a kiss on the forehead before leaving the room with Aerith.

Theodore just remained seated by the bed, staring inquiringly at his twin sister whose eyes were still staring blankly straight ahead. The Paopu fruit was still in her grasp.

He just sighed heavily. "Samara, please talk to me… I hate seeing you like this… it's like you're a zombie!" he told her frankly.

She just lowered her gaze to the Paopu fruit but did not answer.

The door slowly opened and there was Sora with Kairi.

"Oh, hey guys," Theodore greeted with a sad smile on his face.

Sora shut the door before approaching Theodore. "So, what's up?" he asked.

Kairi stared pitifully at Samara's present state.

Theodore got up from where he was sitting and flipped his hair. "Still the same, Sora. Though it's been a week already…" he said softly.

"Yeah. Riku can't even recognize me! I guess it's the same with Samara." Sora told him with a disappointed look on his face.

Theodore turned to Kairi. "Who's with you here?" he asked curiously.

"Oh, just my mom and dad. But they're outside talking to President Rufus." She replied before the Paopu fruit caught her attention. She examined it and noticed that there was already a bitten part.

She recalled that Kuja forced her to take a bite out of the fruit and then he threw it away to threaten her that she will be alone forever if nobody else takes a bite out of it.

"Has Riku gone off to Destiny Island already?" Theodore asked.

"They're in the parking lot. I guess they're going to do some packing at home first and then they're off." Kairi replied.

But something was bothering her.

_"…he's way too important to me…"_

Kairi turned to look at Samara's eyes.

_"…he's one of the few who could understand me."_

Remembering those words from Samara when they were hiding in the cave, she realized why the little girl had reacted the way she did in the reactor when Kuja threw the Paopu fruit into the hole. She smiled sadly at Samara with tears in her eyes before hugging her. "Oh, Samara…" she whispered softly, surprising Sora and Theodore.

Tears fell from Samara's eyes. Kairi withdrew from her friend and stared into her blue eyes. "I know, Samara… I know," she said softly before getting the Paopu fruit from her and then turned to Theodore and Sora. "I'll be back in a jiffy!" she told them before rushing out of the room.

"Kairi, where are you going?!" Sora asked, going after her, leaving Theodore and Samara there.

Theodore looked back at his sister and saw the sad smile on her face. She was looking at him as her tears continued to fall. He blinked, somewhat confused because of her current actions.

"Theodore," she began.

His crimson eyes widened at her. Finally, she could remember. "Samara!" he exclaimed before hugging her. She returned the embrace, but this time, she was already sobbing helplessly. "Theodore!" she said with a shaky tone.

* * *

Vincent handed Sephiroth the keys. "Here you are. And make sure Riku's wearing a seatbelt." He instructed.

"Yeah, yeah. Kiss mommy for me. Bye." Sephiroth mumbled under his breath while rolling his eyes. He opened the door to the front passenger seat and helped Riku get in. He buckled the seatbelt for him before closing the door. On his way to the driver's seat, he stopped when he heard Kairi's voice yelling, "Wait! Mister Sephiroth!!!"

Sephiroth and Vincent both turned to the two youngsters running towards them.

"What's wrong?" Vincent asked with a curious look on his face.

Kairi and Sora stopped running, and after catching their breaths, the former spoke up, "Whew! Glad to know you haven't left yet! Ha ha!" she said weakly while still panting.

"Sephiroth unlocked the door to the driver's seat and opened the door. "What do you want?" he asked before he got inside and shut the door again. He started the engine and buckled up.

Kairi went over to Riku's side with Sora right behind her. "Riku," she began.

Riku turned his head to the direction where he heard the voice but he did not say anything.

Kairi smiled weakly at him. "H…hi! I… I don't know if you can remember me but… anyway, that's not important. I'm Kairi… and Sora's with me right now… and…" she reached for Riku's hand and placed the Paopu fruit on his palm.

Vincent's facial expression softened upon seeing the Paopu fruit.

Sephiroth just smiled unbelievably while shaking his head in disbelief, turning to Vincent and winking at him. Vincent just smiled weakly and turned and walked back to the hospital.

"It's a goodbye gift… you can eat it if you're hungry." Sora told Riku.

Riku just kept quiet as he used his other hand to feel for the Paopu's texture.

Kairi and Sora both turned to Sephiroth who was eyeing them curiously. The two just smiled goofily at him. "Eheh… bye! Have a nice trip!" Sora said before stepping away from the car.

Kairi waved goodbye at Sephiroth before she moved away from the car too.

Riku bowed down his head, still feeling the Paopu fruit. "…star…?"

_"So you will never be lonely again…I'm giving it to you."_

He heard his own voice from the back of his head saying those words… but they quickly faded off from his attention.

"Where are we going, daddy?" he asked curiously.

"We're going home first… then we're heading for Destiny Island." Sephiroth replied with a slight smile on his face as he drove the car into the highway leading to the place where the Valentine Mansion stood.


	20. Epilogue

**Children of the Hearts  
by General Quistis & Zhakeena  
Disclaimer: We don't own Kingdom Hearts, Final Fantasy 7-10, Dark Stalkers, Devil May Cry, Resident Evil (or Biohazard), Ragnarok manwah and Online... and whatsoever. and the Ring. Baaaaah... Peace out, ya'll!**

* * *

**_Epilogue_**

_Five years later…_

"Hey, Paopu Brain! Wakey-wakey!" Kuja chanted with an annoyed look on his face.

"Leave me alone!" Riku snapped impatiently as he covered his face with his own pillow.

Kuja frowned angrily at his brother before he forcingly pulled the pillow from his face.

Riku's eyes were already open and he was staring frustratingly at his older brother. Kuja was in awe for a few moments upon seeing his eyes… "I'll pretend he's wearing contacts… gold contacts…" he thought silently.

The color of Riku's eyes has not returned to normal yet and for Kuja and their other siblings, it's like they are not looking at Riku's eyes anymore.

"What are you staring at?" Riku asked with a sleepy tone.

Kuja shook his head and looked away. Riku sat up on the bed and looked at the wallclock. "It's only midnight…" he began before Kuja threw a Paopu fruit on his head. "OW!" he exclaimed in pain.

"Happy birthday! Hahahahahahaha!" Kuja jumped out of bed. Riku was still rubbing his own head with the palm of his hand. "Ow… get out of here before I tell dad and he'll ground you more and more and more!" Riku sneered.

Kuja just sneered back at him before strutting out of the bedroom.

Riku plopped back down on his bed and stared at the ceiling. "How long has it been?" he thought silently.

It had always been that way… ever since Riku could remember, Kuja would be the first one to greet him a happy birthday. He would wake him up every midnight and bother him about it. Smiling slightly, he closed his eyes, ready to fall asleep again, but he opened his eyes in surprise when he heard the telephone ringing.

The phone just kept on ringing. "Looks like Kuja has no intention to answer it… and dad's sound asleep so…" he got out of bed and got out of his room, proceeding to the living room and then answered the phone, "Hello?"

"Hello, may I please speak with Sephiroth?" asked a man from the other line.

Riku frowned slightly. The voice was very familiar but he could not remember who it was. There were still a lot of problems with his memory recall and it was really bothering him. Hesitantly, he asked, "Wh…who's this?"

"Rufus ShinRa. This is a long distance call from Midgar. I know it's an inconvenient time there but this is really important," the man replied.

"Sh…ShinRa? Midgar?" Riku mumbled before putting the receiver down on the table and slowly walked going to his father's quarters just chanting the two names.

Sephiroth had awoken to the sound of the door creaking and Riku's chanting. "What's wrong?" he asked sleepily.

"Uhm… dad it's for you… some… Rufus ShinRa guy from Midgar. He says it's important." Riku replied.

Sephiroth frowned slightly before getting out of bed and went outside to the living room, leaving Riku there. Confused and annoyed at himself for not being able to remember anything at all, he just decided to go back to his own room and sit by the window, staring at the Paopu tree planted in the middle of the yard near the sea a few meters away from his bedroom window. It was also a starry night… and he could remember hearing a lot of voices… and seeing a lot of images in his head whenever he would look at the stars and the Paopu tree.

"What the hell is wrong with me…" he muttered miserably as he rubbed his eyes with the back of his hand. Ever since he had regained his eyesight back (which just happened two years ago when he was 18), he had seen a lot of pictures of himself from when he was only 15 and younger… he had bluegreen eyes. And when he regained part of his memory back (which happened just a year ago when he was 19), all he could remember were the names and the faces and the personalities of his immediate family members. He could also remember a little bit of who he was… his favorites and his hobbies…

But there was nothing else beyond that.

Frustrated, he just went over to his study desk and picked up the Paopu fruit that the two young people had given to him before he left the hospital…

When he could see again, he realized that there was really a bite on the fruit, but it still remained fresh for some reason. His father told him that the fruit must have been exposed to Mako that's why it's different from all the other Paopu fruits that rot easily whenever somebody takes a bite out of it.

"A goodbye gift… eat it when I'm hungry…" he recalled with a solemn look on his face.

He sniffed the fruit and he felt his stomach grumbling. Mindlessly, he took a bite out of the fruit…

* * *

_"So you will never be lonely again…I'm giving it to you."_

She slowly opened her eyes when she thought she heard the voice that seemed to be like a distant memory already… She slightly opened her mouth to suck in some air as she shifted to the other side of her bed and then sighed softly as she closed her eyes again. The rays of early morning sunlight hit her closed eyes. Annoyed at it, she opened her blue eyes again and gazed at the window.

But she did not move.

She wanted to call out the name that she had been calling out everytime she would wake up from a nightmare ever since she was 10… and now that she was 15, she still was not sure if he could hear her. As time went by, she would stop screaming the name. She would just say it softly… and time came when she just whispered it…

Until she would not even say it anymore because of fear that nobody would even understand her or hear what she really wanted to say.

But at that certain morning, she had said the name… but in her mind.

And she reached out her hand towards the window with a sleepy smile on her face. She remained in that kind of state until somebody entered her bedroom. It was her mother.

Tifa stared curiously at her, "Oh, so you're already awake?" she asked.

She just stared at the window with a smile on her face as her mother approached her.

"Well, I came here to check if you're already up… because your dad says we need to reach Junon by 9:00 am today. Today's the big day wherein you and Theodore will be introduced to society!" Tifa said with an excited smile on her face as she sat down on the bed beside her daughter. When she realized that her daughter was not moving, her smile faded. "Samara, are you alright? You…" she smiled slightly again when she saw that her daughter was smiling, "…you look happy. Did you have a good dream?" she asked gently.

Samara's facial expression softened. "Yes mommy..." she replied before she kept quiet for a few moments and then spoke up again with a soft tone, "I'll never be lonely again."

* * *

**The End**

**GQ and Zhak's notes: We hope you enjoyed this fic. Watch out for our site dedicated to the "children". XD It's coming soon. Just check on our profile for the link. We might put it up there. See ya'll there! ;)  
Anyway, as for Riku's mommy..... I'm sure you were all able to guess it. But he's not the biological mommy, don't worry. It's just that..... Sephiroth's brain got clouded with so much dreams, aspirations and illusions... for more information, check out Samara's blog: ... the explanation's there... plus more fun stuff!  
Love ya'll!**


End file.
